


Down the Twilight Path

by HinataSnow



Series: The Ties That Bind [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-31
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2017-11-23 03:24:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 29,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/617533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HinataSnow/pseuds/HinataSnow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twilight Town has an affinity for being the source of enigmas. Armed with bravado and a vendetta against Xigbar, young Jason finds a teacher and a lover in Larxene after failing to infiltrate, and becoming prisoner of Organization XIII. Conflicting goals cause animosity to grow between Sora and Jason, as a new villain creeps out of the shadows. Regret's Advent won't leave any heart untouched.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! So after a near complete overhaul, a change of editorship, and a development period that wanted to never end, Down the Twilight Path is finally ready to be published again. I'd like to thank my new editors, and in particular anyone who has had the patience to stick with me up to this point. This reboot comes with a new prologue, so without further ado:
> 
> We are Team Cannon Fodder!, Inc. presents:
> 
> A XelarictheNobody production (Technical beta)
> 
> Directed by KarateKairi (KH beta, plot comber, New Executive Head)
> 
> Written by Snowthefirst (Main author, Main OC creator, character designer, plot maker, designated whipping boy)

* * *

Down The Twilight Path

Prologue: It ends, it begins.

* * *

As of late, I feel a heaviness growing in my heart. It makes sense, as the first anniversary of that day is fast approaching. The heaviness comes hand in hand with nightmares of that day as well. I go over the memories over and over, in my waking hours and in my lucid dreams. Regardless it always plays out in the same way... It was the day when I was shown how little I truly know.

How the day started, unfortunately, is not much more than a blur in my memory. The clearest image I can recall is of my family and me sitting around our dinner table. In an instant the picture shattered irreparably, and for a while I lost all sense of where I was or what was going on.

_When I woke up on the ground, the first thing I became aware of was the pain all over my body. I looked over myself and realized, with mounting horror, that I had been shot. The last thing I could remember was my parents shouting at Eileen to take me and run...and as I looked back I caught a glimpse of –_

_My thoughts were interrupted by groans of pain. The fear in my heart threatened to reach a fever pitch. Despite all common sense telling me to do otherwise, I looked around me. I almost passed out again from what I saw; my entire family lay on the floor, all bleeding from the same mysterious wounds._

_"Mom! Dad! …Wh-wha–" I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. What was going on? Who had been that man in the black coat, and what had he done to us? How had he taken us all out so quickly? And most importantly –_

_"James, Nicole. Long time no see. I can guess you two weren't ever expecting to see me again, huh?"_

How had he known my parents? I had only been able to watch as I weakly lifted my head toward the ceiling. The first time I ever came face to face with the one-eyed man in the black coat. But a glimpse was all I would get; everything was starting to fade into a void that bloomed in front of my eyes.

My body began to feel very light, as if floating on air. For a while, all I did was float aimlessly, unable to control where I was going. Then I stopped and I felt something solid form beneath me. I waited until I was sure I was in full control of myself and tried to stand up. I soon realized I no longer had my bullet wounds from my earlier nightmare, and so I had no real problem standing up.

I began to feel rather small as I tried to take in the vast black expanse all around me. The only thing visible was what I was standing on: a glass pane, covered in a smoky black stain, floating in the middle of nowhere. An elaborate design was barely visible underneath the stain, only just enough to tease at the design that couldn't be made out.

Almost without thinking, I tested the stability of the pane and finished getting my bearings.

As if in response, a voice suddenly rang in my head,  _"Who are you?"_

"Excuse me? Who's there?" I asked. "And where am I? Assuming this isn't just a dream...is it?"

_" Such careful, measured responses_ ," the voice responded. " _To answer your questions, you know full well where you are, and this is in fact a dream. Now answer my question. Who are you?"_

I rolled the answer around in my head before coming to an unsettling conclusion; that as far as I could tell the voice was telling the truth, however unhelpful the information was at the moment. That being said fair was fair…

"My name is Jason. Jason Darnell. And you are?" The silence that followed seemed disappointed. I shook my head. Nothing about this made much sense, no matter how hard I tried to puzzle it out. I knew of – and had experienced – lucid dreams. But this place seemed different. Somehow, I felt that even if this was just a dream it was unlike any I had ever had. Suddenly the platform I was on began to shake, and something started to rise out of the ground. It was a trio of pedestals, each with a different item floating over it: A sword, a wand, and a shield.

_"Those who don't know themselves are destined to be lost to themselves. And yet, I feel that you have a better idea than most when it comes to the inner self. So express that. If for no one else, do it for yourself. Of the three paths before you, accept one and reject the other. And don't cheat by saying you'll accept them all. That's not how this works."_

I considered this. This voice seemed to know me pretty well, and I did understand what he was saying: If you had no choice but to bring one weapon and leave behind another, what would you do? While I did wonder what would happen to the third weapon, I felt that the voice would appreciate an answer. I approached the wand, a simple staff with a blue orb rounded like a water drop on the end of it.

_"The wand. The channel with which one expresses the energies within. Limitless powers at the tips of your fingers…but one slip and they will consume you, erasing all trace of you from this world. Is this the power you seek?"_

"It is." At this, the wand floated into my hands before vanishing. Despite the warning laced with the weapon, the wand had appealed to me. The wand itself meant nothing, as the voice had said. It was a conduit for whatever the wielder pleased, and as such seemed ideal to me. As for the risks...well, that was just a natural consequence of wielding any kind of weapon.

_"Now choose which to give up. Worry not of the third, for it will become a secondary, passive power."_

Once again the voice had picked the thoughts right out of my mind. I began to have a sneaking suspicion of where I could be . The identity of the voice w as no clearer to me though, and that worried me more than anything. Nonetheless…

I approached the sword, a rather basic blade with a simple hilt and no guard.

_"The blade. The purest form of physical aggression, it is the domain of those who live on the brink, a constant companion. Wielders accept that as they begin with the blade at their side, so too their end will come by the blade. Is this the power you reject?"_

"It is." The blade vanished, along with the shield and the three pedestals. The choice this time seemed to be between having two ways of attacking and only having one along with a method of defense. It had been a difficult choice but felt I had decided wisely. As I awaited the voice's next question, I became aware of another voice echoing faintly. It sounded as if it was calling someone.

_The first voice continued, "You accept the power of the wand. You reject the power of the blade. Is this how you see yourself?"_

I thought on this for a moment before answering, "This is how I see myself."

_"Then it appears your time here is at an end, for now."_

A cracking sound filled the air as the platform broke , and I began to fall. "But don't worry. It is only natural...you have taken the first step into true self-awareness. And regardless of where you go, of where your choices take you, just remember..."

The voice began to fade.  _"You are the only person you can ever be. Therein lies your greatest strength, and your greatest weakness."_

_"Jason. "_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Welcome to the first official chapter of Down the Twilight Path, a fanfic with more delays and production problems than I thought was humanly possible! But now we will finally begin the story proper: Act One of our six act story. We begin in the cozy world sandwiched in between light and dark, Twilight Town. Our troubled young protagonist lives here, and is going to embark on a life-changing journey soon. One in which he is way in over his head...

* * *

**Part One: The Boy Who Knew Nothing of the World**

**Act One: Introduction**

* * *

**Scene One: A Chance Encounter, Part 1**

"Jason, wake up!"

The sound of someone banging at the door filled the room. Jason thrashed in his bed, briefly confused, before he shook the cobwebs of sleep off him and realized that it was his sister at the door, shouting his name.

"I'm fine, Eileen," he said. "I just had that nightmare again."

The banging stopped and a heavy silence filled the air. "That's not what I would call fine, Jason," she answered. "But today is that day...if you don't want to go to school today I understand. I could come up with an excuse for the teachers."

Jason pulled up his knees to his chest, honestly considering this. To have his older sister make such an offer was the biggest indicator of how that day affected them, even today. But what good would it really do to just stay inside all day? No, today of all days...The best thing to do was to remind himself that he still had his life, and people that he cared about, that cared for him back.

As Jason got out of bed, he repeated the sentiment out loud to Eileen.

"I'm glad to hear you say that, Jason. I need to get to work. I left some breakfast for you, so eat something before going to school. And if you're feeling up to it, you can come with me to the hospital later to see Mom and Dad."

With this, Eileen left to get ready for her job. Jason took this chance to continue to get ready for the day ahead. As he did so, he began to remember the other dream he had the night before; the mysterious glass pane floating in the middle of nowhere, and the disembodied voice that had asked many specific things of him for an unspecified purpose.

_That voice seemed to want to know about me...except whenever I answered its questions, its next response gave me the feeling that it already knew the answer I gave. So why the questions then? And why me? Normally I wouldn't be taking a dream so seriously, but even for a lucid dream that felt far too real._

_So if everything in the dream actually happened, then there are a lot of questions that need to be answered, including who the Voice belongs to and why it chose me for whatever it's planning..._

Jason paused in front of the mirror and looked over himself: Bright red hair, green eyes smattered with hazel flecks, a face his sister described as eternally scowling, a build he considered decent. As for clothes, there wasn't much to note with a green long-sleeved shirt and simple black jeans. Whatever reason the Voice had for talking to him through a dream, Jason couldn't discern it.

_Am I seriously trying to interpret the meaning of a dream as though it were literal? The Voice seemed to mostly speak in metaphor so I could be going at this in a completely mistaken fashion!_

Feeling his mind become increasingly muddled, Jason took deep, calming breaths.

_Today of all days I need a clear head._

As Jason continued to calm himself, he looked out the window as he did every day, and like every day he couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Jason left the apartment complex he shared with Eileen and headed to school, feeling marginally better. The crisp, morning air and the gentle light of the sun helped remind him of the blessing that was his daily life. He looked around to see the sights he saw every day: the various stalls and people scattered around Market Street, the Tram Common in the distance where Jason would catch the tram to school. It formed a part of his world, his precious life that he was lucky to still have.

But even as Jason tried to involve himself in it, greeting people as he passed by them, a shadow had fallen over him. Every time someone asked after him, wondering how he was doing or if he and his sister were coping with not having their parents, he felt boiling anger rise up inside him.

He knew that everyone was being nice, and he wasn't the type to refuse help or sympathy. But today of all days the anger simply had no healthy outlet, because the one responsible for the attack had gotten away. Realizing what path his thoughts were taking, Jason forced his emotions back under control. All he had to do was get through the day and take some time to talk to Eileen and his friends about his feelings.

_If there is one consolation I can always rely on, it's that I have Eileen and my friends to turn to during times like these._

* * *

**One year ago, today.**  The day had begun like any other with Jason preparing to go to school, his dad already gone off to work, and his mom talking with Eileen over the phone. The only thing worth noting in retrospect was the fact that his mother, in an unusually serious mood, had taken Jason aside and said that there was something important she needed to tell them later. After school, Jason had gone home to see his entire family there, and a somber mood emanated from his parents. Asking Eileen revealed that she was just as confused about it as he was, so Jason decided to wait until their parents were ready to tell them whatever it was they wanted to say. But their parents had told them to wait until after dinner while they collected their thoughts. So it was that Jason was sitting around the dinner table when–

"James, Nicole, long time no see. Bet you weren't expecting to see me ever again."

Jason looked around, trying to locate the source of the sudden voice but seeing nothing. He turned to his parents to ask what was going on, but the question died in his throat upon seeing the look on their faces: pure, undiluted fear.

"Eileen. Take your brother and get out of here."

"Wait, what's going on, Mom? Who is-?"

"Listen to your mother, and just go!"

Eileen took Jason's hand and tried to run out of the room. But the memory ended like the nightmare, as the latter derived itself from the former: Jason suddenly felt pain explode all over his body, and woke up to find himself and his family on the floor, bleeding.

What happened? Jason looked around everywhere but still couldn't find the culprit of the attack.

"Someone's still awake? Well, well, aren't you resilient."

The voice was coming from the ceiling. Jason slowly looked up, and was greeted by an impossible sight: standing upside down on the ceiling was a man in a black coat. The man had a jagged scar running up the left side of his face, with an eye-patch covering his right eye. Despite the distance between the two, Jason could also see that the man had pointed ears, golden eyes glimmering with amusement, and black hair with grey streaks combed back and tied into a ponytail.

"Who are you?" Jason managed to croak.

"Sorry, kiddo, didn't quite catch that," the man responded. In a split second the man was no longer on the ceiling—instead he was crouching in front of Jason. Clutched in his hands were a pair of strange objects; the only real details Jason could make sense of was that they were purple, had hand-grips, and had a strange array of protrusions. The one-eyed man noticed and brought one of the objects to Jason's forehead. "You don't even know what this is, do you? These are arrowguns. And do you know what would happen if I were to pull the trigger right now?"

Jason felt fear unlike anything he had ever felt before, fear that began in his heart and permeated through his entire body. All he could see was the arrowgun between his eyes.

"I guess I would die," Jason finally answered. It didn't occur to him that there could be another outcome.

The man grinned madly. "The World is much bigger than you could possibly imagine, and if the sight of my ugly mug scares you," the man's grin became bigger. "Then you'll never survive outside the little corner you currently live in." The man pulled the trigger on the arrowgun...

Jason opened his eyes and looked around, feeling deeply confused. He at last realized that he was sitting on the tram headed home, and couldn't remember how he got there.

_Damn._

Jason's hand unconsciously went up to his forehead, feeling the small spot of scar tissue where the one-eyed man had shot him. Jason had survived that day, as did the rest of his family. But his parents had fallen into a coma they had yet to wake from, and Jason found himself plagued with moments like these, where his mind would become fuzzy and he would suddenly find himself somewhere else. He shook his head in a futile attempt to clear the fog in his mind, the storm of emotions in his heart.

_I have to keep calm. I need to be focused; I can't afford to lose my grasp-_

"Hey kid, are you all right?" One of the bus patrons had reached out to touch his shoulder, attempting to comfort the distressed boy.

"No, I'm not! Just get away from me!" The bus fell silent as everyone stared at Jason. The shadow over his heart seemed to grow darker as Jason tried to think of a way to recover from his outburst.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm not myself today, I-I need to leave." He pulled the stop cord on the tram, and jumped off at the first chance. Then he began to run.

* * *

Jason headed to the one place where he was almost guaranteed privacy: the Old Mansion. One of the many urban legends in Twilight Town involved the abandoned structure, located beyond some woods and a hole in the wall of the Tram Common. The only reason the hole hadn't been sealed away was because the house itself had been declared 'an integral part of Twilight Town's history' by a preservation committee some decades back. Jason had asked his parents where the mansion came from, and they told him it had been abandoned as long as they could remember. No one knew what was inside the mansion either - it was behind a padlocked gate and surrounded by a tall wall topped with spikes. As far as Jason knew, no one had ever been brave or foolish enough to try to get in and penetrate the mansion's secrets.

As Jason made his way through the woods, he contemplated his day. It had begun with a horrid nightmare and very little details could be recalled through the fog in his head. All day long everyone had showered him with rightful concern, but instead of feeling grateful, all it did was make him angry. He had tried to control the storm of feelings that the anniversary created in him, but after that outburst, Jason knew that he had failed. What had just happened on the tram had been the straw breaking the camel's back, and Jason finally realized that he could no longer afford to be so out of balance.

The main problem was that this miniature war had been building within him for quite a while. First the nightmares, then the guilt...Jason knew, in his head, that there was nothing he could have done to make a difference about what had happened a year ago; but the sight of his parents lying comatose in hospital beds, of his sister exhausted on the couch after a hard day at work to support them, kindled a burning anger in him towards the one-eyed man.

Except entwined with the anger was fear. Fear of that mad look in his eyes. Of that arrowgun held to his forehead, and how nonchalantly the man had pulled the trigger.

_Was there anything I could have really done against someone like him?_

Jason flopped on his back, looking at the orange sky as the light filtered through the trees.

_That man had said that I could never survive beyond the small corner I live in. That seems to indicate there's more out there than just Twilight Town...and it's worse than he is. Regardless of whether I want to believe him or not, his very existence seems to indicate that if nothing else, there are many things beyond my home that I could never imagine. I could search my entire life for him and never find him…_

Jason got to his feet, still lost in his thoughts as he drew nearer to the Mansion's gate. Through all of the confusion, one thing remained perfectly clear: That day had changed him. That chance encounter had changed his perception of the world, and shattered it forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And that was the first chapter! Thankfully, chapters should be being published on a more regular basis. I have quite a backlog too, which I wrote just to make sure things don't lose momentum. I hope to see you all for the second chapter. See you next time! Please review.


	3. A Chance Encounter, Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So it seems publishing isn't quite as brisk as I was hoping it was going to be. But like I said, I will finish this story no matter what! As they always say, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Let us witness as Jason continues to make that single step into his own tale...

**Scene Two: A Chance Encounter, Part 2.**

As Jason reached the Old Mansion, he noticed something odd. It took a full minute of staring to figure out what it was, if for no other reason than the detail centered on what wasn't there.

The gate to the mansion was wide open.

* * *

"The Veil Lizard has become active again."

"Again? Third time this month. You'd think one of the natives would have run into it by now."

"Be that as it may, until a Keyblade wielder can be recruited into the Organization–"

"'It's our job to do Heartless control.' I know, I know. I'm on my way."

* * *

Jason took a few tentative steps towards the now open gate. The lawn in front of him seemed just as empty as it had ever been. Still, Jason hid behind a wall and peeked around it to study the lawn first, as in his opinion it never hurt to be too cautious.

But no matter how hard Jason looked, everything seemed normal: an inner border of bushes, some patches of dirt in the grass, a few broken statues overrun with plants. Jason sneaked out from behind the wall and walked through the gates for the first time in his life. When nothing happened, he relaxed for the first time that day, if only a little.

Jason lay on his back again, seeing the sky above him but not really paying attention to it. The boy retreated into himself, trying to find the center of calm that had eluded him the entire day.

_I'm not usually so on edge, and yet to snap so harshly at someone who was only trying to help seems to be an expression of just how much of a mess I really am._

Jason grabbed one of his bangs with one hand and began to play with it, deep in thought.

_Why do I feel so bad? I've tried so hard to control these feelings, but I can't. I know that there was nothing I could do to stop that man back then; there's been no sign of him since the day of the attack. As far as I can see there is no will, no way, no path I can take to find that man and make him pay for what he did._

The boy felt his mind become agitated again, so he tried to calm himself by taking in his surroundings.

_The feel of the grass under my body. The air I breathe into myself. The light and warmth of the sun that bathes me._  Jason felt his thoughts finally begin to calm. They danced underneath his eyelids, possibilities and scenarios spreading out in front of him.

_And yet, it's not like I don't have anything. I have my sister. I have friends I can call up if I want some company. I'm still alive, I still get to wake up every morning and experience moments like these._

As Jason watched these thoughts dance in his mind's eye, he felt something begin to form in the back of his head. The sensation that he almost had the answer to his questions, that the fog in his head would clear if he would just reach out a little more.

_Why am I so angry? Am I just unsatisfied with everything I have in my life?_

The sensation in his head grew stronger.

_Wait, I don't think I'm unhappy with what I have. I love my life. But even if the one-eyed man were to ever return..._  At last, the fog in Jason's head cleared, leaving nothing in its wake but a single, stark reality: If the one-eyed man ever returned to Twilight Town, he could do what he want, destroy what he pleased.

_He could even attack my family again and make sure we stay dead, and I don't think anything could be done about it._

Jason sat up abruptly as the realization finally hit him in full force.

_I want to do something about this. I want to find the one-eyed man and return him all the pain and suffering he has given my world, in order to make sure he can never threaten us again._

A sense of deep calm fell over Jason as he looked over the true source of all his internal anguish. While he was no closer to solving the problem, the boy felt confident that he now had a clearer grasp of the situation, as well as of himself.

To Jason, these first steps made all the difference.

* * *

Tram Common: Tucked away in an abandoned station is a figure dressed in a full-body black coat. He appeared to be waiting for something, occasionally tapping his foot or moving about in a restless manner. The figure suddenly perked up, looking around, despite the area around him still looking empty. Then, directly in front of him, something silver poked out of the ground. The figure bent down toward the sliver protrusion, and for a moment there was silence. Then he straightened up and pointed an arm out into thin air. A purple void opened up in that direction and the figure ran into it without pause.

* * *

The boy got back on his feet, dusting himself off.

_Now that I've finally calmed down, I need to get home. Eileen will be waiting for me so we can visit Mom and Dad at the hospital._

But as he approached the gate, a sudden chill swept over him. Jason looked around to find the source of the odd feeling and was greeted with a terrifying sight: A giant, spine-covered creature looming over him. Time slowed to a crawl as Jason tried to run, tried to escape, tried to just move but found his body frozen.

_This is how I die. Fear permeated every cell of his body. I never had a chance to reach the one-eyed man that attacked my family. What I wouldn't give for the smallest chance—_

Then a black blur tackled the creature, snapping Jason back to his senses. The boy dashed towards the open gates, only to collide into nothing, landing painfully on the ground.

"That's right, run right into the wall," a voice groaned in exasperation. "Well, it's not like I can blame you for wanting to run from this ugly mug."

A dazed Jason looked up to see a figure in a black coat fighting against the creature with a pair of strange weapons in his hands. Jason took this chance to study the creature and managed to spot a strange sigil on its underbelly.

_That voice and those weapons...I don't think that's the one-eyed man. But then who is he?_

Jason carefully stood back up, making sure to not aggravate his now aching body.

"What is that thing, anyway?" Jason wondered out loud.

The cloaked man paused for a second—a second too long, as the creature took this chance to smack him away.

_Great going, distract your only help and get him hurt in the process._

Jason looked around for cover while the creature went chasing after the cloaked man.

_Those bushes lining the inner edge of the wall; I should be able to find a space small enough to hide in between the bushes and the wall._

Still keeping an eye on the fight between the creature and the man, Jason crept towards the nearest line of bushes and tried to slip into the first crevice he saw, doing his best to ignore the pain shooting up his body.

_I might get really scratched up doing this...but that's the least of my problems._

After Jason managed to squeeze into the crevice, he peered out to check his surroundings. As the man had said, a translucent wall now blocked the exit. Looking around revealed the wall to be part of a bigger dome, one which encompassed the entire lawn area around the Old Mansion.

_So I can't get out. I can only hope my would-be rescuer is doing well, because I don't have any way to defend myself._

Jason next turned his attention over to the battle and his jaw dropped as he truly took in the spectacle before him.

The creature clawed and flailed at the cloaked man, who dodged across the lawn at speeds Jason had never seen before—all he could make out was a black blur. Even more amazingly, every time the man attacked Jason saw flames emanating from his hands and weapons.

The one-eyed man could defy gravity, and this man can summon flames from nowhere. Who are these people?

The man continued to dodge about, striking the creature with his odd spiked weapons. Then out of nowhere, the creature vanished.

_Where did it go? The dome's still here which seems to indicate that the creature is as well._

Jason looked around in a state of complete panic, but in stark contrast the cloaked man simply sighed.

"This routine is getting really old." He raised his hand and pointed in what Jason thought was a random direction. "Goodbye." Then the man snapped his fingers, and a large flame spontaneously erupted in mid air. Within the core of the flames the creature reappeared, thrashing ineffectually.

Jason ducked back into the bushes, the fear pulsing in his body stronger than ever before.

_To so thoroughly destroy a monster of that size...I can't hope to win against someone like this. All I can do is hide here and hope he's forgotten about me during the battle._

For a moment there was silence; then the sound of footsteps began to approach Jason's hiding place.

"I know you're there, so just come out now. Don't worry, I won't bite."

Oddly enough, Jason felt all fear instantly leave him, replaced with a numb kind of resignation. All he came here to do was have some time to calm down, and now there was a very real chance he would die in the next few minutes. If there was really nothing he could do about it, then there was simply nothing he could do about it. Raising his hands above his head in surrender, Jason stood up and turned around, hoping to at least get a glimpse of the man's face.

That was exactly what he got.

The man had removed the hood of his cloak at some point, leaving his head completely uncovered. The man had bright-red hair slicked back into spikes, emerald-green eyes, a pair of purple teardrop markings under his eyes, and a rather cocky look on his face. He was noticeably tall and slender in contrast to Jason's slightly bulky build.

_He looks a lot like me...who is he?_

The cloaked man seemed to be just as confused as Jason, as the former briefly looked over the latter, narrowing his eyes.

"What are you doing out here, anyway? This place seems too out of the way for just a casual visit," the man asked.

_One chance. This is my one chance to get out of this alive, and I can't blow it._

Jason knew he was shaking, trembling with fear. But he wasn't completely helpless. Jason managed a shaky grin and answered, "I live here, of course. I haven't had the best day and I knew—or at least I thought—that I could have had some alone time here."

After a tense moment, the cloaked man grinned back. "You're one unlucky kid, then."

Jason decided that now was the time to try and get a few questions answered.

"So, what was that monster?" Jason asked. "I've never seen anything like it."

The question caused the cloaked man to noticeably tense up.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "You're never going to see it or me again, so if I were you, I'd get back to my life. After all, doesn't a kid like you have a family?"

Jason looked over his bruised, aching body and contemplated these words.

I _s he right? Just today I've learned that there is at least one more cloaked person besides the one-eyed man, and I encountered a giant monster that can become invisible. I can't do anything against any of them, so would it be better to pretend none of this ever happened, and just move on with my life… while I still have it?_

The boy looked back up to ask the mysterious man another question, only to find himself alone.

Jason looked around to confirm this, and furthermore saw that the barrier from earlier was now gone.

_Well, no point in sticking around here. I should get home and contemplate what I've learned here today – before any more monsters show up._

Trying his best to ignore the pain in his body, Jason limped his way out of the mansion grounds, his head bursting with questions about the mysterious stranger and where in the world he came from.

* * *

"Lea. You finished your mission, but I noticed you've been quiet since you returned to the Castle. Did something happen?"

"One of the natives spotted me. He reminded me a bit of myself – you know, back when we lived in Radiant Garden. He actually had the nerve to try and start a conversation with me after the Veil Lizard almost got him."

"Really? What was his reaction to seeing you for the first time?"

"He was scared. But it was more as if he was expecting me to hurt him, rather than genuine surprise."

"I see. You are dismissed."

_That kid's reaction was really odd. Just who was he, I wonder? And why wasn't he more surprised to see me?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So now that Jason has run into the Organization again, expect for them to make a house call...next chapter! See you next time! Please review.


	4. It just raises too many questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Its the first DtTP of the new year! As slow as the publishing schedule is, I still plan on continuing this tale until someone forcibly stops me. Today's chapter finally gets the plot going, so enjoy!

**Scene 3: It Just Raises too Many Questions**.

As Jason limped out of the woods, his vision began to blur. The stress of his encounter at the mansion, however brief, had taken its toll on his body. He tried to at least make it back to his house, but before he could even get halfway there, his legs gave out on him. As he collapsed, he became dimly aware that someone was running up to him…

_Will you let this be the end?_

Jason opened his eyes to find himself back on the mysterious glass pane from his dream. When he looked down, he noticed that under the black stain, the pane was now covered in a myriad of cracks.

"What happened? What's going on here?" he asked.

_You have arrived at a crossroads. Will you simply fade away and let yourself be engulfed in the cradle of darkness? Or will you force yourself to face the light and the harsh realities that come with it?_

"Oh, stop that. I don't remember ever being so mindlessly dramatic."

Out of the pane, a dark shadow began to rise until it was at Jason's height. It then morphed itself into a replica of the boy, with yellow, glowing eyes.

_"So, do you know where you are? Do you know who I am?"_

Jason took another look around him to affirm his suspicions.

"I'm inside myself. As for you...you're me, except different."

The shadow Jason snorted. _"You still insist on hiding from the truth,"_ it said. _"This is what's known as the Dive to Heart. In this case, this is your Heart."_

Upon hearing this, a name rose to the front of Jason's mind, "This place...it's called the Station of Delusion. I don't know how I know that, but I do."

 _"You just said this place is inside you,"_ Shadow Jason pointed out. _"But you are correct. You are currently operating under a fatal delusion, one that keeps you from seeing the world as it truly is, represented by the current state of your heart."_

In theory, that made the solution simple; all he had to do was expose and purge the delusion from inside his mind. But right out of the starting gate things got sticky, as Jason had no idea where to start when it came to tracking down this so-called delusion.

 _"And already your mind is shielding you from the harsh truth that lurks in your heart,"_ Shadow Jason said. _"It's not time for you to face you this delusion. There is something you need to learn before you can do so."_

"Jason! Jason, wake up!"

_"But you will return here. You have to, unless you wish to simply surrender yourself to the oblivion."_

The Station began to tremble, before shattering again like during Jason's previous visit, and once again Jason plunged into the bottomless abyss…

* * *

Jason's eyes snapped open. Tendrils of pain wracked his body, forcing him into awareness.

He was back in his house, lying on his bed. The first thing he noted was that he no longer had his shirt on, which revealed the various cuts and bruises he'd earned from his encounter at the mansion. Most of them were either swabbed with alcohol or bandaged, if not both, explaining the pain that had awakened him.

"You're awake."

Jason turned his head to see his twenty-four year old sister, Eileen, scurrying over to him with more medical supplies. Eileen was dressed in her usual outfit of a thick, woolen sweater and unflattering denim pants. She wore thick glasses that obscured her bright, lime-green eyes, and her dark-red hair was pulled into its standard messy ponytail. All in all, it gave off the impression of a careless, slovenly person. Jason knew that nothing could be further from the truth.

Already, Eileen was observing him carefully to glean whatever information she could from her little brother.

"Where have you been all day?" she finally asked.

Jason knew there would be little to no point in lying, so he recounted everything that happened today, including the meeting with the mysterious doppelganger and the giant creature.

"You're telling me that there's more than one of those cloaked bastards? And the other looks like you?"

Jason nodded. "I didn't understand it, and he didn't seem to either. In fact, he seemed more surprised than I was."

Eileen closed her eyes and began stroking her chin, deep in thought. "This is exceedingly odd. It seems like the look-alike has some sort of connection with the one-eyed man that attacked us a year ago. But what that connection is I can't even begin to guess."

Jason put his shirt back on and sat up. He was about to leave when he remembered what he hadn't been able to do.

"Can I still get to the hospital so I can visit Mom and Dad?"

Eileen shook her head. "Visiting hours have already passed. But funny you should mention our parents..."

She reached into the pockets of her jeans and pulled out some envelopes. There were three in total: two thin envelopes and one rather thick envelope.

Eileen set the three envelopes on the bed and pointed to the two thin envelopes. "I met with our parents'[B1] attorney, and he gave us these. Said they were from Mom and Dad, and we were only to receive them if they were incapacitated for at least a year."

She next pointed to the thick envelope. "This one came with the first two envelopes. According to the attorney, this is only to be opened under one of two conditions; either our parents give their express permission for the envelope to be opened...or they were to both die under mysterious circumstances."

Jason reared back in shock. For their parents to set up such a specific set of plans, presumably far ahead of time. It was almost like they had expected to be attacked.

"In regards to what Mom and Dad's secret is, your guess is as good as mine," Eileen said. "As for the envelopes, I decided to wait for you to wake up so we can open them together."

She set the thick envelope aside, and then gave Jason one of the two thin envelopes while holding onto the other one. Jason studied the envelope in his hands. It was a plain brown envelope, with the only notable feature being his name written on it, in what he recognized as their mother's neat cursive handwriting. A quick look over at Eileen revealed that her envelope had her name written on in their father's messy scrawl.

At an unspoken signal, the two of them opened their envelopes at the same time and removed the papers inside. It appeared to be a letter, and without another word, Jason began to read.

* * *

Jason,

If you're reading this, then something happened to us, and we've been unreachable for over a year. It may not mean anything, but I'm so sorry that we've abandoned you and your older sister. I hope you've been listening to Eileen, and if you haven't please do! She'll look out for you, even if you two don't always get along.

Your dad and I have always done what's best for the family, and that sometimes meant keeping secrets. As much as I wished you two could have grown up without ever knowing about our past, it seems like it's caught up with us regardless, and you two have suffered as a result. If my suspicions are correct, someone we used to know has tracked us down.

You must be wondering who this mysterious person is and why you've never met him. The first thing you must know is that your father and I believed that the man in question might have passed away, but since you're reading this letter he's clearly still alive.

I should start from the beginning. The truth is, your father and I aren't from Twilight Town. We're from a place far away from here, but you were born here. Whenever you asked us how we met, we always said that we grew up together and fell in love with each other as the years went by. That's still true, but every time we've told this story we always left out an important detail.

That detail is a man named Braig Sanders, an erstwhile friend of ours. Growing up, he was one of your father's closest friends, and a good friend of mine as well. He was born and raised in a rather poor area and always had a great sense of ambition as a result. But that ambition caused an irreparable rift to form between us, and eventually he left our home. Not long after that, your father and I were forced to flee our home, and we came here to Twilight Town. I thought that perhaps Braig had perished, for we never saw him after that.

If the man that attacked us was a tall man with jet-black hair and missing an eye, then Braig Sanders is still alive. Anything else about him, I'm sorry to say I don't know.

Jason, under no circumstances are you or your sister to seek out Braig. I know you must want answers, but the last thing I want is for you two to get hurt getting entangled in our past. Just focus on making a happy, safe life for yourself. I ask this of you as your mother, and I hope you listen to this request.

Once again, I'm sorry that we've failed to keep you and Eileen safe. If all goes well, your father and I will join you two soon, and we can plan our next move together. And if we die, then don't waste a second going back for us, just get as far away as possible. We've already made arrangements, but that's the worst case scenario, and one that shouldn't come to pass if we've planned thoroughly enough.

No matter what happens, just remember that I love you both so much. You'll grow up to be a wonderful man, and I will do everything in my power to watch this happen.

With all my love,

Nicole Darnell

* * *

Jason slowly looked up from his letter. He and Eileen stared at each other with identical expressions of shock on their faces. Tears were streaming down their faces.

"I guess that's why we never had any Darnell family reunions."

"Now's not the time for those kinds of jokes," Eileen snapped. But they both knew that Jason was trying his hardest to not be scared out of his mind. Eileen herself was trembling slightly, her hands twisting and turning the letter.

"I'm guessing Dad's letter said the same things," Jason said. "About where they grew up and this Braig Sanders person."

"It did, but Dad practically ordered me to take care of you," Eileen said. "But I noticed he didn't say a thing about your look-alike or the monster you saw. Did Mom say anything about that?"

Jason shook his head. While the letter had answered a lot of questions, it brought up many more. Where was this mysterious home that their parents had grown up in, and why had they fled? Did this Braig always have the powers he displayed a year ago? Most importantly, who was the mysterious redhead Jason had met at the abandoned mansion, and what was his connection to Braig and the monster?

Eileen stuffed her letter in her pocket and picked up the unopened thick letter from Jason's bed. "It has been a long day, and I think our best course of action is to rest so we can look over these facts in the morning with a fresh state of mind."

Without another word Eileen left Jason's room. Jason lay back in bed, laying his letter next to him. All of a sudden, his lids grew heavy, and sleep washed over him…

When he opened his eyes, he was on his feet and back at the Station of Delusions. Looking down, he noticed that the cracks had healed slightly, and the black stain had retreated an inch.

"You've returned. Perhaps you have the resolve after all."

Jason steeled himself as the Shadow rose out of the stain again.

"I'll listen to whatever you have to say," he said.

The time for answers was now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I realize this chapter raises so many more questions than it answers, and this was entirely intentional. Everyone will get their answers, but there's a lot of darkness that comes with it in the following chapters. See you next time! Please review.


	5. Gaze upon your true reflection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This plot of this story is finally starting to kick in! Let's watch as things quickly spiral out of control.

**Scene 4: Gaze Upon Your True Reflection**

**Unknown Location**

"Could you repeat that, Saix?"

"One of the human locals spotted Number VIII while he was on a mission, and according to him, the local bore a striking resemblance to him. To be sure, it is an oddity."

"Nah, I think Flamesilocks is just a bit too full of himself."

_I know only one person with red hair besides Flamesilocks...could it be?_

* * *

**The Station of Delusion**

"Are you sure that you want answers? It's not too late to back away."

Jason observed the Shadow as it paced around him, yellow eyes piercing into him. Jason could tell by the flat tone that the Shadow was really only asking these questions out of obligation.

"You told me earlier that if I don't accept these answers, I'll sink into some kind oblivion," Jason pointed out. "Even if you're just being metaphorical, it still doesn't sound very pleasant. So even if I didn't want answers, I kinda need them."

"So you're not in the mood for any of this prerequisite garbage either." Shadow Jason nodded approvingly. "I will try to cut down as much of the unneeded fluff as I can, but no promises."

The Shadow lifted an arm, and a small creature formed out of the black stain on the pane. It was very vaguely humanoid, with bright yellow eyes just like the Shadow Jason, and it had antenna on the top of its head. The creature's face was blank of all other features except the eyes.

"What is that?" Jason asked, immediately on alert at the sight of the small creature.

"If you don't know, then I don't either," Shadow Jason answered. "But I do feel a kinship with this being."

The creature abruptly leaped at Jason, catching him off guard. The next thing Jason knew, he had a long gash going up his right arm.

"I should have expected that...but that was still a really dirty trick to pull!" Jason growled.

"And what makes you think I was responsible for this?" Shadow Jason sneered. "You know absolutely nothing about either of us, so why would you automatically assume that I can control it?"

"Well, you share your coloration with it," Jason explained. "That's my first reason. Secondly, it looked like you summoned this being from the dark stain on the Station of Delusion. Lastly, this creature attacked me only after you said that you shared a kinship with it. So I concluded that you non-verbally ordered it to attack me."

The Shadow nodded in approval. "Well-reasoned, given the little information you were presented to work with. Here on the Station of Delusion, I can control anything and everything, including this small being of darkness. However, I have no idea what this creature is, only that I've seen them before. Do you know why?"

"Since you're me, you know everything I know, but only what I know," Jason said. "And if you can control everything here...then so can I!"

Jason slammed down his uninjured arm, and the small creature exploded into a puff of black mist.

"Nicely done once again. But, you've only just begun to open your eyes!"

Shadow Jason pointed at the gash on Jason's arm, which suddenly flared with pain.

"Arrrgghh!"

Jason grabbed his injured arm, feeling the pain steadily get worse.

_Okay, this is looking really bad. We can both control everything in this place, which would normally leave us on completely even footing. But after that surprise attack with the small creature from earlier, the Shadow version of me now has a weakness he can exploit! Think, Jason. It stands to reason that if we can control everything in this environment that includes ourselves!_

Jason would have smacked himself in the face if he could. Instead, he focused on the wound on his arm.

"Heal."

A gentle green aura enveloped the gash, which then shrank out of existence.

Jason looked up to see his Shadow self with a triumphant look on his face.

"Mind letting me in on the joke?" Jason asked.

"Consider the following: You did not summon any kind of medium to channel the healing energy. In fact, all you had to do was will the wound closed and it happened. Why do you think that is?"

"Well, I simply followed the same logic I used to destroy the creature. Since this is my heart, I can do anything here."

"Okay, then answer me this. Why was I able to summon the creature in the first place?"

"Well, you said that while you didn't know what the creature was, you had seen it before, so-"

The words died in his throat as Jason considered the implications of what he had just said. His Shadow self was able to summon the creature because he had seen it before. It was impossible for the Shadow to know anything that Jason himself didn't know. That meant that Jason had seen the creature at some point in the past.

_But I don't remember ever seeing something like that-_

A sharp pain went through Jason's head as he recalled a memory from the day Braig attacked his family…

* * *

Blood. Blood dripped from the hole in Jason's head, and it was the only thing he was aware of as his sight faded just a little more with every passing second.

_I think-I think I'm dying. I can't move. I can barely feel anything. Is my life really going to end like this? Bleeding out on the floor, not able to do anything for my family?_

Black blotches sprouted from the ground, which then formed into small bipedal creatures. One of each creature then moved closer to the fallen Darnells.

All rational thought left Jason's mind.

"Don't you dare...whatever you things are, stay away from my family!"

He lifted his right arm in an attempt to do something, anything. But not a second later his arm fell back to the ground.

That's when it happened.

A bright green light bloomed outward from Jason's body. It steadily expanded until it filled the entire room.

The bipedal creatures stopped and turned back into their formless shapes. Just as suddenly as it arrived, the green light vanished.

_What was that?_

The first thing that Jason noticed was that his head felt much clearer and his wounds had stopped bleeding. Looking around he noticed that everyone else's wounds had stopped bleeding as well. But his fatigue had not been lessened, if anything it had just gotten worse.

_Did...Did I do that?_

Jason's train of thought was interrupted when the front door of the house was kicked down.

"I heard a bunch of noise, is everyone okay? Oh my God! What happened here?"

The last thing Jason heard before he fell unconscious again was the sound of someone calling for an ambulance.

* * *

"Did that really happen? If so, what did I do that day? Since when was I able to do it? And why haven't I been able to tap into this ability since then?"

"You are finally asking the right questions," Shadow Jason said. "And you are now all the better for it."

The Shadow pointed downwards, and Jason followed where he was pointing. The dark stain covering the glass pane had lightened, and even shrank considerably from the edges. With a pang of frustration, Jason realized he still couldn't make out a pattern beyond the cracks.

_Wait, what am I thinking? If this place is my heart, then I can make the pattern whatever I want it to be!_

As if responding to Jason's thoughts, the glass pane began to change. A pattern began to make itself clear under the stain: a picture of himself in the clothes he currently had on, half-curled up and apparently asleep.

Jason noticed that his picture was in the dead center of the glass pane; there was more to the design, but everything surrounding it was still obscured.

Jason looked back up at his Shadow self.

"So now what?" he asked.

"It seems as though the amount of answers you can glean here has run dry; at least for now," the Shadow responded. "But now that you've taken one step closer to the truth, you may return here when you wish."

Just like that everything began to fade, and Jason knew that meant he would be waking up soon.

"Just remember: the truth won't always serve your best interests."

* * *

When Jason woke up to find himself back in his bed, he wasn't very surprised. He had been in his bed when he went to sleep, after all.

He was surprised, however, when he looked at his bedside clock and found that it was eight in the morning.

_I went to sleep at five in the afternoon yesterday. Did I really sleep all that time?_

When Jason pinched himself to check if he was still dreaming and felt a twinge of pain, he got up from bed. After showering and changing his clothes, bringing himself back to reality, Jason went into the dining room to see if his sister had prepared breakfast. She had, and the two siblings ate in silence - something that was not unusual for them.

Jason knew he had to breach the topic of what happened that day if he was hoping to move forward in his quest of self-discovery, so after cleaning up he approached Eileen.

"Could you tell me again what happened after Braig attacked our family a year ago?" he asked. "My memory of the time is really spotty, but I think I remember something that I want to run past you."

"What did you remember?" Eileen asked, peering at Jason curiously from behind her glasses.

Jason explained the memory he had recalled, but left out the part concerning the glass pane. That part would just sound like a weird, meaningless dream to her.

Eileen mulled over what her brother had told her.

"Normally I'd knock you upside the head for saying something so daft," she said. "But your story could explain an oddity concerning our wounds."

"What oddity?" Jason asked.

"After we were taken to the hospital, the doctors looked checked us over. They all reported that our wounds were already healing as if they were a few days old. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to keep Mom and Dad from slipping into a coma."

"Okay...then how did you and I wake up? We were all shot in the head, weren't we? And everywhere else for that matter. And what did I do that day, anyway?"

"That's a question I still don't have the answer to," Eileen answered. "As for what you did...what do you want to be more than anything?"

"I want to be a doctor," Jason said, wondering how this was relevant.

"I want you to go outside and contemplate on that," Eileen said. "Talk to people. Play Struggle. Do anything, just be outside. I need to find some very important objects, and I don't want any distractions."

The two siblings stared each other down briefly before Jason backed off. Eileen meant business, and there was no point in picking a fight if she planned on delivering the info anyway.

Jason made his way out the front door, but was stopped when he heard Eileen shouting something from somewhere inside the house.

"What was that, Eileen?" Jason shouted in her general direction.

"I said, bring your Bo staff with you. Just in case."

_My Bo staff? Does she really think I'll need it?_

Just the fact that the suggestion had been made was indicative of how serious his sister was at the moment. Without saying another word, Jason made a stop at his room to pick up the wooden staff before leaving.

Once outside, Jason began to wander, unsure of what to do with himself. There was no guarantee that any of his friends weren't busy with something else. But then, if he was going to talk about this with anyone…

Jason, now with a solid destination in mind, began to pick up the pace of his walking. His parents had explicitly forbidden investigating Braig. For now, Jason was going to leave that restriction be. But the mystery of his memories and the creatures that had appeared both at the mansion and in his dreams; that was presumably free game. Jason suspected that everything was linked, so in investigating the branching threads new answers on the larger mystery would unveil themselves. At least in theory.

* * *

_As I thought. Seems like Axel ran into James's kid._

A purple void opened up in the middle of the street to reveal a cloaked man. He had dark black hair with white spikes running through them, an eye-patch going over his right eye, a scar running up the left side of his face, and a noticeably slim build.

_I could just get rid of them…but I thought I did a year ago, and yet they're still alive. And it seems like this kid has something to do with it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The overall mystery is beginning to come into focus. But as is usually the case with Kingdom Hearts, the path to the truth is a twisted one. See you next time! Please review.


	6. Innocence lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm not even going to make excuses at this point. I had to shelve this series to finish another one on my alternate account. But now I'm back to the world of Kingdom Hearts, just in time for 2.8! As for today's chapter, our protagonist finally leaves home...though likely not in the way that you expect.

**Scene 5: Innocence Lost**

After Jason left the house, Eileen rummaged around in her pockets and extracted the letter her father had left her. She had lied yesterday when she told Jason that the contents of her letter were identical to the one their mother had left Jason. But in fairness, Eileen had nothing to do with the level of secrecy. This was a part of the plan their parents had cooked up, and therefore the information was segmented into three tiers: what Jason was allowed to know, what Eileen was allowed to know, and what only their parents knew.

Eileen couldn't stand being in the dark, and she knew Jason wouldn't like it any more than she did if (or when) he found out. But she knew that they were dealing with something they couldn't hope to understand, and so the only thing she could do was trust in the contingency plan their parents had set up. She scanned the letter from her father to see if there were any instructions for the current scenario.

"Eileen, when your mother and I were younger, we practiced a craft known as magic. There are many kinds of magic, but for now, you two only need to know two kinds: offensive magic and restorative magic. If you follow these instructions, you should find some basic spell books we brought from our hometown."

"For all the good magic served you," Eileen muttered derisively then immediately felt guilty about what she said, although she was alone. She didn't bother going over the instructions her father had left her – she already knew where the spellbooks were.

* * *

"Hey, Jason!"

Jason stopped his aimless wanderings to see who had called him and saw his two best friends, Mika and Reika, running toward him.

He had met the two of them when he was little, and they were the first friends he had ever made. Mika had light-brown hair that went down to his shoulders, dark brown eyes, and an unassuming face with a crooked nose that looked as if it had been broken. Reika had black, wavy hair, dark red eyes, and tanned skin.

The two of them approached Jason with looks of concern on their faces.

"You've been holding up, Jason?" Mika asked. "We didn't see you at all yesterday."

"Sorry guys," Jason said. "But I needed to clear my head, and then I ran into some trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Reika asked.

"I wish I could tell you, but I really don't know how to explain what happened," Jason answered.

"You don't know how to explain it, huh?" Reika said, sounding doubtful. "Well, feel free to get back to us about that when you can tell us what happened."

Jason privately noted where his friend had emphasized her words and nodded.

"In the meantime, I see you have your bo staff with you," Mika noted.

"My sister recommended I bring this with me," Jason said. "If you want, we can spar. could use the exercise."

"I'll spar with you," Reika volunteered. "Mika is still recovering from our last spar a few weeks ago."

"For the hundredth time, I'm sorry about the nose," Jason said sheepishly.

* * *

The three friends relocated to the local sandlot, which was vacant. Jason and Reika took fighting poses while facing each other at a fair distance. Mika stood off to the side, acting as a referee. While Jason wielded his bo staff, Reika decided to fight bare-handed.

"Okay fellas, lets have a nice, clean match," Mika said. "Hit below the belt if you must, but the first one to bite will be lectured strongly. First person to get three clean hits wins. Ready...go!"

Reika made the first move, dashing straight at Jason. Jason responded by bringing his staff in front of him to block the flurry of punches from his friend. Abruptly, Reika stopped her attack and tried to sweep Jason's legs out from out under him, but he saw the attack coming and dodged it. He followed it up by jabbing his staff sharply in front of him. Reika avoided each jab expertly before she spotted an opening and moved in to strike. But this turned out to be a trap on Jason's part, when he jerked his staff to the left and whacked Reika in the side.

"Hey, that almost hurt, Jason," Reika quipped, panting with exertion.

"Just warming up, Rei-Rei." Jason responded with a grin on his face, knowing how the nickname would irritate his friend.

"Oh ho ho, so that's how you want to play it."

Reika redoubled her efforts to get a strike in as the spar continued. But her fighting got sloppy in her irritation, and Jason managed to get another hit in. However, Reika managed to get control on her temper long enough to make a comeback, managing to avoid Jason long enough to duck under his guard and punch him in the gut. As Jason skidded back, he lost his balance and fell to the ground, and pain shot up his left arm.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Mika called as he rushed to help Jason up. Jason looked over himself to see what had happened, and saw that he had scraped his arm rather badly.

"Oh! Looks like we got carried away again," Reika said. "Sorry about that."

"That's okay," Jason said. "It happens. I'll just get home so that Eileen can patch me up."

_You really don't need to do that, you know._

The sound of Dark Jason's voice faded completely before Jason had a chance to ask what it meant. All further attempts to try and contact it were likewise fruitless.

Jason promised to meet up with his friends again after he had the scrape on his arm cleaned and bandaged, and they parted ways.

* * *

On the way there, however, Jason went over the statement that had echoed in his mind. He didn't need Eileen to help him with his arm. The most relevant thing Jason could think of was the green energy from his mindscape yesterday.

"How did I summon that energy?" Jason wondered out loud.

When he had done it in his mindscape, he had simply willed the healing energy into existence, but a part of Jason still believed that the whole experience was nothing but a dream.

Jason looked at the scrape on his left elbow and experimentally laid his right hand on it. The wound stung slightly on contact. In his mind's eye, Jason saw a veil of green energy. He imagined the energy flowing from his mind down into his arm, until it came to a stop at his right hand. A tingling sensation followed much the same route.

"Heal."

A small amount of healing energy blossomed from his hand and onto the scrape. The injury shrank out of existence and left behind clean, unmarked skin.

"So I can use magic!" Jason exclaimed. "But what does this mean?"

Jason increased his speed to a jog. Judging by how Eileen had been acting this morning, she had an idea of what was really going on, and had sent Jason outside so the two could collect information separately.

As he ran, however, a purple void abruptly opened right in front of him. Jason was going too fast, and didn't have time to stop before he plunged straight into the void.

* * *

Almost immediately, Jason was deposited on the other side of the portal, and the boy stumbled onto the ground. When he got back up, he found himself on the surface of another world. In sharp contrast of the warm light from Twilight Town's sun, this new world was very dark. The only sources of light were from the buildings all around him and a pale light from some heart-shaped thing hanging high in the sky. The buildings themselves were all taller than anything Jason had ever seen in his life, and despite all the lights in the windows, Jason couldn't see anyone moving inside them.

Jason was in an alleyway, so he walked out of it and entered a wider street, hoping to find someone who could tell him where he was. But the streets in front of him were almost empty, with the only life being the occasional small inhuman creature that Jason quickly recognized as the one his Dark self had summoned in his mindscape. Jason turned around and looked back into the alleyway he had come from, only to see that the void that had brought him there had vanished.

"You're not seeing your home anytime soon, I'm afraid."

Jason felt something collide his head. He turned around to see Braig holding an arrowgun pointed at him, a wicked grin on his face.

"It's you!" Jason said. "Braig Sanders!"

Braig chuckled. "When was the last time I heard that name? You must've learned it from your parents. Well, I'm sorry to say that the man known as Braig doesn't exist anymore."

"Then who are you?" Jason asked. "And what am I doing here? Where am I, anyway?"

"One question at a time, little man. For now, just call me Xigbar. As for where you are and why you're here, I might tell you...if you follow me."

"What's my alternative?" Jason asked, cautious.

Xigbar's grin grew wider, and he motioned to the city around him with his free hand. "You could try and be an explorer. But there's nothing here that would help you get home, and you'd be left all alone with the Heartless."

He pointed to the creatures wandering around, and Jason logged the name away in his head. Some choice. Even if by some off chance Xigbar was lying and there was a way for him to return home, so long as Xigbar had that arrowgun pointed to his head, there was nothing he could do. Likewise, Jason had no idea how to fight the creatures roaming the streets, even if he could get away.

"All right then. I'll follow you," Jason sighed, placing his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender.

Xigbar used his free hand to open another purple void, and the two went inside.

* * *

"If you feel that Twilight Town is no longer safe, then at the location specified below you'll find something to help you both leave."

Eileen looked up from the letter to find herself in a secluded part of Twilight Town's forest. Tucked away in a small clearing was an equally small building. She entered the building slowly and cautiously, only to find it empty except for smoking wreckage of some kind of machine in the center.

"Just what is going on here?" Eileen muttered under her breath.

A small group of black creatures emerged from the area around the machine, and Eileen turned around to see her way blocked by another group.

"Well, isn't this an unfortunate situation?" she grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Now I have been writing a lot of new chapters since this series has been gone. So another massive break like this hopefully shouldn't happen again. Even better, this story's heroine will finally debut soon. See you next time! Please review.


	7. Reach rock bottom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: After some real life issues threw off the writing schedule...again, I have returned to DtTP! This chapter is stuffed full of plot, so I hope it was worth it was the wait. Enjoy, my readers!

Scene 6: Reach the Rock Bottom

Location: Unknown

Purpose: …

For as long as the being could remember, it had solely two reasons to justify its existence: to reach a plateau of power it could not define, and to seek out a certain individual. The being did not know this individual personally, but was instead seeking them out for the sake of someone else. To this end, the being had wandered for many years. The being had many experiences in that time, but could not remember most of them. Anything irrelevant to fulfilling the missions was quickly discarded.

Today, or the closest concept the being could grasp, it searched the halls of a grand castle. Deep in its core, the being could sense the presence of the one it was seeking, but the trail was already a few days old. The trail ended inside a large bedroom.

"The trail goes cold here. Looks like I missed my chance - again," it muttered under its breath as it shifted its amorphous body. "Hopefully I can pick up the scent again, or it's back to having to do stakeout."

The being sighed deeply. It very rarely got a lead on its search, and whenever it did those leads would quickly dry up, much like this one had. But the quest was the very reason this being existed in the first place, and so it persevered.

"If this room is uninhabited, perhaps I could rest here for the night," the being said to itself.

"What are you doing in my bedroom?" a deep voice growled from the shadows.

"Or not..." the being deadpanned as it realized it was no longer alone.

The being slowly turned and raised one hand in surrender, meanwhile using the other hand to try to open a Dark Corridor through which it could make an escape.

"Please, don't be hasty –"

The last thing the being saw was that the owner of the bedroom was large and covered in thick fur, before said owner struck out with sharp claws. The being flew backwards into the incomplete Dark Corridor.

_My body was badly damaged by that strike. If I land in a place with hostile natives like that one, I might be in trouble._

With this thought in mind, the being shifted its body to one that it felt would seem harmless as it flew through the darkness. It felt itself smack into something soft before unconsciousness claimed it.

* * *

Location: Unknown

Jason looked around the small cell he had been thrown into from his sitting position in a corner of the room. It had all the basic amenities such as a bed and a toilet, but everything in the room looked stark. The cell itself was a bright white, much like the hallways outside.

The vortex that Xigbar had opened led into this cell. Before leaving, Xigbar had told Jason to wait patiently, but not before confiscating Jason's bo staff. That had been several hours ago now. As time passed, Jason couldn't help but become more and more paranoid.

He had no idea why he was being kept alive, and his mind insisted on filling the silence with increasingly hysterical theories. His imagination had decided that they were keeping him so that his organs could be harvested for food. Jason bit down hard on his thumb, hoping the pain would force him back into clarity.

Okay, what do I know for a fact? Xigbar and my doppelganger look human, but the fact that Xigbar referred to Braig Sanders as a separate entity to himself seems to indicate this might not be entirely the case. As for where I am, I don't have enough information to draw any conclusions. The fact that I was brought straight into this cell means I can't even be sure I'm in the same world anymore.

Jason's mind stuttered to a halt as he processed the concept of multiple worlds. All his life he had lived in Twilight Town. Jason thought that he would spend his entire life there, had no reason to believe it was even possible that he could leave, and now he didn't know if he would ever see his family again.

In short, Jason was at the complete mercy of Xigbar. Despite himself, Jason broke out into a cold sweat. Ever since he had encountered the monster and his doppelganger at the mansion yesterday, his life had been plunged into a dark abyss with no sign of stopping.

_On the other hand, I have to eventually reach the bottom, if I'm not already there. And once you reach the bottom, the only way to go is up._

Jason drew his knees up to his chest, closed his eyes, and allowed his mind to enter a contemplative state. As long as he was left alone, he may as well make sure he had complete control over himself.

It was the only weapon he had on him.

* * *

Location: Twilight Town Woods

"Huff-huff-huff...That was almost a challenge. What were those things I wonder?" Eileen asked herself aloud as she ran through the woods. The shadow creatures had been a surprise, but some magic and the application of a hidden weapon had taken care of them. Whoever her parents' enemies were had been able to destroy their carefully-laid plans before the plans had ever launched. Eileen was almost sure that meant that the one-eyed man, Braig, was behind this. That meant that Twilight Town might no longer be safe.

Eileen read another page from her father's letter, the sole source of support she had at the moment.

If you're reading this, Eileen, that means that the spaceship that brought us to Twilight Town cannot be used. If this is the case, open the final package we left behind. Then take Jason and leave Twilight Town. It is no longer safe.

"Just what kind of enemy did you and Mom make, Dad?"

Eileen burst into the center of Twilight Town and headed into the suburbs. She was going to get Jason first, and was already kicking herself for splitting up from him. She was quickly becoming tired of the secrecy her parents had imposed over the entire situation . But they must have believed it was necessary...

"I saw Jason earlier, but he left for his house not too long after."

When did he leave?

"Around noon, I think."

Eileen could hear herself thank Reika out loud, but mentally she was a million miles away. Every person she'd asked so far hadn't seen Jason all day. Reika had been the first person to have seen him. She told Eileen that they had been in the Sandlot that morning, but she hadn't seen Jason again since, and according to her, Mika would give the same story.

Eileen had been home around noon, and she hadn't left for the forest until almost three. That meant that Jason had left the Sandlot to go home, and didn't make it there for three hours… if he had made it back at all.

With a knot in her stomach, Eileen raced back to her house, praying that her brother was okay.

* * *

Location: Unknown

"Who do you think this is?"

"I don't know, Sora. I just found him lying on the beach."

The being awoke with an aching body, and for a moment it seriously considered not opening its eyes. But it realized that it had been found by natives of whatever world it had landed on, and that it should probably strike up a good rapport with them, lest they should decide to attack as well. In this damaged state, it could not afford a repeat of the previous encounter.

Upon opening its eyes, the being saw a red-headed girl with violet-blue eyes looking down at him with concern. Next to her was a friendly-looking boy with spiky brown hair and blue eyes, observing him with caution. His first impression of them was that they did not seem dangerous.

The being reorganized its internal systems to cope with the external changes that had occurred while it had been asleep.

"Hello. May I ask where I am?" the being asked.

"Oh! You can talk!" the boy called Sora exclaimed.

"Don't be rude, Sora," the red-headed girl chastised gently. She turned to face the prone being. "You're in our home, Destiny Islands. Can you tell us your name?

My name? Just what identity should I present to them?

"My name is..." he began hesitatingly.

Then a name rose unbidden, and the being spoke it before he could stop himself.

" – Regret's Advent."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I can now tell you for a fact: two chapters from now, in chapter 8, this story's heroine will debut. So look forward to that, hopefully soon. See you next time! Please review.


	8. Know Your Proper Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A short piece to serve as a bridge between the previous chapter and the next one. We will also dive into our mysterious protagonist, and how he and the rest of his family fit into the Kingdom Hearts universe. So enjoy, my fair readers!

Scene 7: Learn Your Proper Place

Location: The Station of Delusion

Jason once again opened his eyes to find himself standing on the glass construct in the center of his heart. Awaiting him was Shadow Jason, who looked as if it was expecting the visit.

"I presume you're here for power," it said.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Jason countered. "We are one and the same, so any power that can be found here would already belong to me. Furthermore, I'm not exactly in the best position right now, so any advantage I can gain would be appreciated."

Shadow Jason nodded in approval to his counterpart's words. "The question, then, is what power can be gained here? What suits you the best?"

Jason recalled what he had been doing before he had been whisked away to the world where he was being held prisoner.

_After I got injured while sparring with Mika and Reika, I discovered I could heal my own injuries. By the logic that my shadow half has presented so far, I've always been able to do that. But then when did I-?_

Suddenly, Jason's head begin to ache fiercely as images flooded his brain.

* * *

" _Are you sure we should be doing this? This magic stuff looks really dangerous."_

_"It might be dangerous, but only if we aren't careful. And offensive magic isn't the only kind of magic that exists. Here, this is a book about healing spells."_

_Jason gently lifted the green-covered book from Eileen's hand and looked over it._

Healing spells? If this magic is real, then my path to becoming a doctor just became a lot easier, _he thought to himself._

The memory had no further context than that, but the meaning was clear: Jason had learned magic at some point in the past. But why hadn't he been able to remember that until now? Wouldn't something like studying magic be too important to forget?

When Jason was able to refocus his vision, he saw a pulsating green orb in front of him. The orb seemed to be roughly half as big as his head. Normally, Jason would hesitate to grab mysterious objects floating in midair, but as this was his own heart, he couldn't see the harm.

Jason grasped the orb and it slipped through his hands and into his chest, causing his entire being to vibrate. At the same time, the glass pane below him glowed with an intense, blinding green light.

When the vibrating stopped and the light faded, Jason looked down. Both the cracks and the stain had shrunk considerably, revealing more of the image beneath. Dotted around the image of Jason were some circles in an arc. There was something in the circles, but that was still obstructed.

"You have reawakened the power of the 'Neophyte's Vulnerary'. With this ability, you now have access to minor healing spells and a 1.2 buff to the same."

Jason looked over at his doppelganger with a look that screamed, _Are you serious?_

The Shadow shrugged. "It seemed like a better thing to say than just 'You've remembered the basic spells that you learned previously.'"

The world around them began to break apart.

"Well, looks like you're being called away," Shadow Jason said as everything began to fade. "You're about to enter a very unpleasant place. Try your hardest to survive."

* * *

"Get up, little dude. It's time for you to meet your fate."

Jason emerged from his contemplative state at the sound of Xigbar's voice and stood on his feet. The Nobody still had a rather frightening grin on his face, so Jason tried to meet it with the most neutral expression he could manage.

"What exactly are you going to do to me?" Jason asked.

"What makes you think that I need to do anything?" Xigbar said as he opened another purple void. "After all, you still don't know what kind of situation you're in."

The two came out in a white-grayish hallway, not unlike the cell that Jason had just been in. Massive windows dotted the walls, showing that they were in a building inside the mysterious city Jason had initially found himself in.

"Welcome to the Castle That Never Was...in the World That Never Was. Where we are right now – it doesn't exist, little dude."

* * *

He wasn't there.

As Eileen swept through the Darnell family house for the fifth time, she finally had to admit it to herself. Her heart stopped in her chest as Eileen realized she was running out of places to look for her missing little brother. Jason was gone.

The more Eileen retraced her steps today, the more she realized that he couldn't be anywhere in Twilight Town. As far as she knew, no one had seen him since noon, and her earlier searches through the woods and the area in front of the abandoned mansion had also turned up empty. It said something about the situation that it was a comfort to her knowing that no corpse had been found either.

 _But then where is he?_ Eileen thought desperately. _If he's not anywhere in Twilight Town, could he have wound up outside of town? And if he did, how am I supposed to find him? Well, I do have…_ that.

In the course of her previous experiments with magic, Eileen had discovered the craft was not just about purely offensive or defensive spells. There were also a few archaic spells of dubious purpose, one of which Eileen decided to learn out of curiosity. Now it seemed she had found a use for it.

Eileen went into her parents' room. In order to cast the spell, she needed to lie down in a bed. For all intents and purposes, the room was right now functioning as her own living quarters anyway.

While lying down on the bed, Eileen looked around at all of her parents' possessions still in the room, untouched. Their clothes hanging in the closet, waiting to be worn again. Her eyes gravitated to her father's work uniforms and her mom's simple, sensible blouses.

If I do this, I may face off against whatever enemy hunted down our parents.

In response to this thought, Eileen muttered three words.

"Corpus, anima separata…"

* * *

_It doesn't exist? Where we are doesn't exist?_

As Jason tried to process the nature of what Xigbar was saying, the latter continued to lead the young boy to an unknown place. It seemed that the one-eyed man was forgoing the portals in order to make the walk to Jason's ultimate fate as long as possible.

 _I will not fall into this man's mind-games!_ Jason thought. _Regardless of whether he's telling the truth, if I become badly shaken, then I'm already at a bad disadvantage._

And so Jason kept his expression as neutral as possible as the two kept walking. Eventually Xigbar opened another void, which the two entered to find themselves in a circular room with what appeared to be thirteen pillars that went straight up to the ceiling, too high for Jason to see.

"You had a lot of questions earlier, little dude," Xigbar said, still wearing his manic grin. "You've behaved yourself so far, so I suppose I can answer a few."

"I suppose in that case we should be introduced properly," Jason said. He stuck his hand out in front of him. "I'm Jason Darnell. And you?"

Xigbar shook the young boy's hand, visibly amused at the polite treatment he was receiving.

"Nice to meet you," Xigbar answered. "I'm Xigbar, Number Two of Organization XIII."

"Organization XIII?" Jason's neutral facade cracked in shock. "So there's thirteen of you guys?"

"Not yet," Xigbar said coyly. "We're still seeking our final member. And if you don't want to find yourself out on the streets, I'd start building a good resume."

"Maybe first I'd like to know what I'm getting into," Jason countered. "For one, what exactly are you? Is that doppelganger I ran into at Twilight Town one of the members?"

"I could answer those questions," Xigbar answered. "But why rob you of discovering those answers for yourself?"

He pointed at the pillars surrounding the room. "From here on out, you'll be fighting for your life, and if you ever want to see your world again, you'll have to earn your spot in the final chair in this room. Do you think you can do that?"

"I don't think I can - I know I can," Jason boasted, hoping he wasn't overselling himself.

"In that case I'll have a chat with the Superior, and if he agrees, you'll start your training tomorrow."

"Thank you for vouching for me," Jason said, even though saying those words killed him inside. But he had succeeded in making it through the day, and that was all that mattered.

The day had ended much like it had begun: with Jason seated in his little cell. But there was one important difference between this morning and right now: things no longer seemed as bleak as they had been.

Jason could see a way out of his situation, and with every day that Jason could earn to keep living he would seek the answers to the mystery surrounding Xigbar and this Organization XIII.

_These magic powers that seemed to be locked away in my memories... something tells me that they'll be the key to making it back home. Let's see… if don't include Xigbar and the "Superior", but include my doppelganger, there are at least ten other members I haven't met yet. Surely I can find an ally in at least one of them?_

With his mind on this hopeful train of thought, Jason drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Next chapter, the story's heroine will finally have her proper debut. From the very beginning, this has been the story about two people: Jason Darnell, and the Savage Nymph Larxene. DtTP hits it's stride next chapter! See you next time! Please review.


	9. In search of an ally

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As usual, feel free to shout at me for how this chapter got delayed. I take full responsibility for that happening. Thankfully I have understanding readers and a wonderful editor. In today's chapter Larxene, this story's heroine, will finally be introduced. So enjoy, my fair readers!

**Scene 8: In Search for an Ally in the Den of Wolves**

Jason woke up, feeling stiff all over. He sat up sleepily, not paying much attention to his surroundings. He leaned over to turn on the lamp on his nightstand – only to grasp at empty air where a nightstand was supposed to be. Jason promptly lost his balance, then tumbled right out of the bed. He looked around at the stark white walls and remembered that he was no longer in his room, or even in his world for that matter.

It was now roughly a day since he had been whisked away from his home. Jason wondered if everyone back at home had noticed he was gone at this point. Chances were they had, and were probably all searching for him right now.

 _Everyone's efforts will go to waste,_ Jason thought to himself. _Hopefully they've at least chosen a flattering picture for my missing poster_.

Jason couldn't help but chuckle because the thought that he would have missing posters had just crossed his mind.

Jason was still chuckling to himself when Xigbar arrived.

"Hey now, it's a little early to be losing your mind, don't you think, kiddo?" Xigbar said, bemused.

"If not now, then when?" Jason said in response. "If nothing else, I can at least make the process as amusing as I can."

The play-acting served its purpose: Xigbar seemed noticeably thrown off by the sight of his prisoner already coming apart at the seams.

"Well, you can go ahead and do that," Xigbar said finally. "But don't think that's going to get you out of bad missions. We already have a member that tries to duck his way out of most everything we try to throw at him."

"Does that mean that I'm going to join the Organization?" Jason asked.

"I suppose you could say that," Xigbar said, now looking wicked.

Abruptly a silvery blur flew into the room, hit the floor in front of Jason, and then took on a vaguely humanoid form. The creature stared at Jason from inside what seemed to be a white zipper hood, undulating its entire rail-thin body in a strange manner.

"What exactly is this thing?" Jason asked. "And what does this have to do with whether I'm a member of the Organization?"

"Those aren't the questions you should be asking," Xigbar said. "This is a Nobody, and so am I."

_Wait, Xigbar and this creature are the same thing? And what exactly is a Nobody?_

"You're probably wondering how I can be the same as this thing," Xigbar pointed to the pale creature. "And just what exactly we are."

Xigbar opened up one of those odd purple voids in the center of the room, and with the other hand tossed a black coat to Jason along with his bo staff.

"Well, on the other side of this Dark Corridor is a trial I set up just for you. If you can come back from this in one piece, I'll tell you everything you want to know. And hey, maybe you'll even find some answers on your own while you're out there."

Jason wordlessly put the coat on over his clothes from yesterday. The coat itself didn't seem to be much more than a regular piece of clothing, but there had to be a reason why both Xigbar and Jason's 'doppelganger' had worn it.

_If I had to guess, maybe it provides some kind of extra protection. I could use that._

"So you've decided to play along. In that case, make sure to keep your hood up, and be careful not to get lost on the way out." Xigbar had a distinctly malicious look on his face. "After all, it would be rude to repay my generosity by falling at the first hurdle."

Jason once again didn't say anything, simply put the hood over his head and marched on through the Dark Corridor. Unbeknownst to Jason, the silver creature followed right after him.

* * *

"Don't you think you're being just a bit cruel?" Axel said as he entered the small cell after the human had left.

"As if! It's not like I ever lied to the kid. And I'm following the boss man's orders in the process, so it all works out."

"And what exactly were those orders?" Axel asked, genuinely curious.

"Just to keep an eye on him, and if the kid proves himself, to give him his role in the Organization he wants so badly. It might be as a Dusk, but he'd still be employed under us," Xigbar answered nonchalantly.

"That's what I thought," Axel said. "After all, if you actually wanted the kid to make it back in one piece you wouldn't have sent him off with Larxene."

"So just why are you so concerned about the Duskie?"

"Demyx just came back from a failed mission in Twilight Town because the place was absolutely crawling with local residents searching for the missing boy," Axel explained. "Which wouldn't be a problem – if the kid hadn't been snatched away to a _different world_."

"Nothing to do with the fact that Demyx would use any excuse to duck out of a mission," Xigbar said dismissively. "But I'll see about getting Saix to stop issuing missions to Twilight Town until the search parties die down. And they will, when they don't find the kid."

Axel raised an eyebrow to this, but since he had got the answers he needed, he left promptly without further comment.

Xigbar left the cell as well, having fulfilled his purpose; for now at least. From his place as an observer, he would watch the Duskie in his struggle. If he failed, then that would simply be the end of it. But if against all odds the young Darnell actually succeeded – well, then that's where things would get interesting.

* * *

The trip through the Dark Corridor had been as surprisingly brief as the prior ones. This time, Jason was aware of the fact that he was making the trip, and he was making it under his own willpower for the first time, despite not being able to open a portal himself. The environment around him was nothing but darkness, and Jason was still blinking, trying to adjust his eyesight, when the Dark Corridor dumped him at his planned destination. The portal closed behind him, disappearing without a trace.

When Jason was able to focus on his new surroundings the first thing he noticed was that he seemed to be in a normal forest, at least at first glance. The first sign that something was off was the massive tree trunk in one corner of the area, followed by an oddly flat quality to some of the plant life. But the final indication of the world's surreal nature came when Jason poked his staff into what seemed to be a small puddle of water, but touched only the ground.

Jason removed the hood from his head, scanning the area in more depth to get his bearings.

_Much like the world where I'm being held, this new world clearly doesn't operate the same way Twilight Town does. So I've been thrown into an unfamiliar environment with no way back._

Jason sighed as he began to move towards the nearest exit.

_Well, looks like I'll have to find my own way back to Twilight Town. Xigbar's clearly not coming back for me. First things first, let's see if the locals of this world are friendly._

"Axel, is that you? What are you doing here?"

_Huh? Who….?_

Jason turned toward the voice, not knowing what to expect – but what he saw was the last thing he could have predicted.

Facing him was a very attractive woman in a black coat like Xigbar's and the Doppelganger's. She had slick blonde hair that was styled into a pair of antenna, pretty pale skin, round bright green eyes, and a slim body.

"Oh… never mind," the woman said, clearly disappointed. "You're not Axel."

_I guess Axel is the mysterious Doppelganger I met in Twilight Town. So that's one question answered._

The mysterious woman focused her full attention on Jason, and suddenly his thought processes became badly muddled.

 _Um, Shadow me?_ Jason thought desperately. _Now would be an excellent time to rescue me with one of those obscure speeches you're so fond of._

From the very core of Jason's being a single thought rose up, echoing through his head.

_H-hips… those hips…_

_That's not helping!_ Jason mentally howled.

"So I guess you're the stupid idiot that got himself kidnapped and I'm supposed to watch over," the woman continued, visibly becoming more bored and hostile by the second as Jason stared at her.

"Yes, that stupid idiot is indeed me," Jason said, without thinking. "But I also go by Jason Darnell. Would you mind telling me what your name is?"

The woman blinked in surprise before grinning.

"Oh, so you might actually be worth a minute of my time. Very well," she said. "I'm Larxene. Not that it matters that I'm telling you, because a human like you is completely powerless."

She pointed to the staff that Jason had in his hand. "Just what are you hoping to accomplish with that little thing anyway?"

_That is a very good question._

"Well I won't know until I try," Jason answered smoothly, still not entirely sure why he was able to keep a cool head all of a sudden.

"Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha-"

The woman started laughing, evidently deeply amused by what Jason had said. She gestured vaguely in a random direction and a trio of shadow creatures were summoned into existence.

"Well, my orders were to teach you magic to see if you can kill some Shadow Heartless," Larxene said. "So tell me, kid. What kind of magic do you already know?"

"Some minor healing- aggghhhh!"

The trio of Shadow Heartless pounced on Jason, and by the time he could whack them away Jason found himself badly scratched up.

"Go right ahead," Larxene said in a faux-cute tone. "Show me these powers of yours."

_This woman...is she trying to help me or kill me?_

Nevertheless Jason focused on the reserve of magic he had discovered inside himself, then tapped into it and brought it to the surface. He found himself raising his staff over his head.

"Cure."

The healing energy channeled itself through the staff before coming out the top and sprinkling itself all over Jason. The sensation of pain immediately retreated, and Jason watched as his wounds vanished.

Looking over to Larxene, he noticed that for the first time, she seemed truly caught off guard.

"All that from a basic Cure spell," she murmured. "Interesting…."

_I've got her attention. Could this be the foothold I've finally been looking for in this Organization?_

Larxene's entire demeanor shifted, becoming noticeably friendlier.

"So just what are you hoping to accomplish here, anyway?" she asked.

Jason considered telling her the full story, but decided some silence would be prudent here.

"I just want to get back home," Jason said simply.

"Not very trusting, are you?" Larxene studied him. "You're going to break hearts with that kind of attitude. But then again-"

A bolt of lightning erupted from one of Larxene's hands and crashed into a wall. The instant before impact a silver blur flew away from the area.

"-the walls have eyes," she finished in a stage whisper.

 _I think I'm going to like her_ , Shadow Jason spoke up.

 _Where were you_? Jason wondered irritably.

_Salvaging the situation. How else do you think you were able to speak in complete sentences?_

Jason decided to leave things at that as Larxene started her magic lesson… if you could call it that.

"There are three different types of basic attack magic," Larxene said. "Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder. Try using them to kill these Shadow Heartless."

She handed Jason a bottle filled with green liquid and what appeared to be a blue cube.

"Here's a potion and an ether," she explained, "in case you turn out to be completely incompetent."

Jason turned back to face the trio of Shadow Heartless, which hadn't moved since their last attack.

So I have to kill these things. I guess...I guess I have no choice.

Jason raised his staff in the direction of one of the Heartless, trembling, and the moment he did all three began to attack him at once. There was no time to think: Jason cast the first spell that came to mind –

"Blizzard!"

A burst of ice magic flew from the tip of Jason's staff, which smacked straight into one of the three Heartless. The Heartless burst into a puff of black smoke and dissolved.

_Congratulations, Jason. It seems like you have a natural talent for magic. On the other hand, it's also possible that you've practiced this before. What does your memory say?_

Before Jason could think on the question too much, the remaining Heartless began attacking again, forcing Jason to go on the defensive.

The other two spells brought differing results: the Fire spell sent out a pitiful ball of flame that didn't seem to affect the Heartless in the slightest, while the Thunder spell did a moderate amount of damage.

Jason had no idea why this was, but in the end he managed to dispatch the Shadow Heartless in short order.

"I killed them….I killed them all. I mean, they didn't seem to be much more than feral creatures that ran on instinct," Jason murmured to himself, unaware that he was speaking out loud. "It was either them or me. So I killed them."

"That's one way of looking at it, and you're not wrong," Larxene said, looking pleased at Jason's musings.

"What exactly are those things?"

"The Heartless? Think of them like those monsters under the bed you believed in as a child," Larxene explained. "They're creatures that are formed when a person's heart is completely consumed by darkness. Like you have already pointed out, they have no higher intelligence. They just wander aimlessly, attacking anyone they come across to try to turn them into a Heartless. From what I've heard you've met a more powerful one, the Veil Lizard. And you actually lived! Good for you."

_To think such creatures existed. And one of them hung around my home? Is that why the abandoned mansion has so many rumors about it?_

"Oh, and those three runt Heartless? You didn't actually kill them."

Larxene paused for maximum effect before dropping the rest of her bombshell, "Oh sure, you made them retreat for a bit. But only a specific weapon can truly destroy them, otherwise they just reform."

It was quite a lot to process, and Jason felt everything he knew shift under his feet for the second time in as many days. In a situation like this, however, there was only one question worth asking.

"So then how do I get one of those weapons?"

Larxene threw her head back and started laughing again.

"What's so funny?"

"If I knew how to get one, I wouldn't be wasting my time searching for someone who does have one, would I?" Larxene asked when she had recovered her breath.

Then she suddenly drew incredibly close to Jason, close enough to once again turn Jason's mind to mush.

"You didn't turn out to be a complete waste of my time, so tell you what," she whispered, "if you can prove what happened today wasn't a total fluke, I might be in touch. Unfortunately our time together is over, so it's back to the castle with you!"

With that, Larxene opened a portal and unceremoniously shoved Jason inside.

* * *

The portal of course led back to his cell, where Xigbar was waiting.

"Hey kiddo, you actually made it back!" Xigbar said by way of greeting.

"I did. So will I finally get a straight answer from you?"

The silvery creature from earlier (at least Jason presumed it was the same one) rose from the floor next to Xigbar.

"So Larxene has already told you about the Heartless, right?"

Jason nodded silently, wanting to get the lecture over posthaste. He had a lot to think about.

"Well sometimes, when a person with a strong heart is turned into a Heartless, they leave behind their body as a shell," Xigbar explained. He pointed to the creature. "That shell is reborn as one of these: a Nobody."

"So you're telling me that thing used to be a human?" Jason said in a hushed tone.

"Was is the key word here," Xigbar said. "The existence of a Nobody isn't a true one, little dude. The moment you destroy one it sinks back into the abyss it came from, so no harm no foul. And remember when you asked what any of this had to do with the Organization?"

Jason could already see what the driving point of the conversation was, and objections were bubbling in his throat.

"Got it in one," Xigbar cut in before Jason could say anything. "Every member of the

Organization is a Nobody, the most powerful in existence. We may look perfectly human, but we're hollow shells all the same. We have no hearts, feel no emotions. We don't even truly exist."

"But then why does the behavior of every member I've met so far seem to suggest they do?"

"Oh we can put on an impressive enough show, but that's all it is. A facade based on our memories of what it was once like. So there are the answers you wanted so badly."

In fact, it wasn't all the answers Jason wanted. For one, it didn't answer what relation his parents had with all of this, or why she had vanished into thin air not too long ago. But Jason also knew that Xigbar probably wouldn't give him any more help, and there seemed to be a more pressing matter at hand.

"I guess I'm going to be turned into a Nobody in order to serve the Organization," Jason said bluntly.

"That is up to the Superior to decide," Xigbar said. "And wouldn't you know it? Since you made it through today, you get to see him tomorrow. So sweet dreams, Duskie."

Without another word, Xigbar warped out of the room, leaving Jason alone with his thoughts.

While Jason found himself unable to sleep, for the most part he felt optimistic for the first time since he was kidnapped. He had made it through another day. He had much more information to prepare himself for the future. Then there was Larxene.

Despite the disconcerting patterns in her attitude, she was the first being Jason had met that seemed to be a potential ally, and if he played his cards right, he would finally have someone – or rather, some Nobody – on his side.

It was a slim, bleak hope, but it was a hope nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Longtime Kingdom Hearts fans will notice all kinds of small details in this chapter that are significant. If you find them, good for you: you are the audience I wrote those details for. Also, please pray for Jason now that he's on Larxene's radar. He needs it. XD See you next time! Please review.


	10. Putting it all in a new perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: More characters being introduced in today's chapter! How is our hero going to react to some of the most frightening forces in Kingdom Hearts universe? Find out below. So enjoy, my fair readers!

**Scene 9: Putting it All in a New Perspective**

_"Eileen, I think this is far too dangerous. Why would we even need to know how to do this?"_

_"Because our town is small and helpless, little brother. Even if nothing ever happens within our lifetime, I don't want there to be a time where I might have done something but couldn't because I was helpless. Now, look at the can in front of you, and pretend it's attacking you."_

_"If you say so. Here goes…."_

"FIRE!"

A fireball erupted from the end of Jason's staff and hit the wall of his cell. It didn't leave any kind of marking; the Blizzard and Thunder spells had been even less effective.

Jason sat down on his bed to take a break, feeling drained from practicing for the past hour. He could have sworn that he used to be capable of lasting a lot longer; but then, he was at least a year out of practice.

The more time passed, the more the holes in his memories began filling in. After a restless night of sleep, Jason remembered that Eileen had in fact taught him every magic spell he knew, explaining the cryptic comments from his Shadow self. The two main questions Jason had about the whole thing still hadn't been answered, though: why had he forgotten all those memories in the first place, and why was he only just recalling them now?

The door to the cell opened, and a displeased Xigbar entered the room.

"Hey kid," he said. "I really don't appreciate you trying to burn the whole place down, so cut it out."

"That wasn't what I was trying to do," Jason said, and meant it. Well it was technically true, since Jason had given up on the hope of breaking out once he saw how resistant everything in the room was to magic. "I was practicing my magic in preparation for any future combat."

"If you say so," Xigbar said sarcastically. "Well, I'd put on my good boy pants if I were you. The Superior wants to see you right away."

Jason stood up and followed Xigbar out of the cell. It was time for what was going to be the most difficult task to pull off so far - for Jason to bow and grovel for his life.

* * *

The final destination this time around appeared to be the rooftop of the castle. Xigbar told him that it was called the Altar of Naught. Given how close the heart-shaped moon was, Jason felt the name was very appropriate.

In the center of the Altar was a man in a black cloak whom Jason presumed was the Superior. The man had dark-brown skin, white hair, deep red eyes, and pointed ears like Xigbar's. The intimidating aura the man was giving off was certainly befitting of a leader.

"I brought the human with me, Xemnas," Xigbar announced.

"Oh, Kingdom Hearts," the Superior said, lifting his arms in the air in reverence. "Please accept this offering that has come before us, as small and insignificant as it may be. Guide us closer to what we all desire. What brings you to this endless abyss?"

Jason wasn't entirely sure what to make of the theatrics on display before him, but he tried his hardest to keep a respectful expression on his face.

"Wait till you hear this," Xigbar said. "Duskie here wants to work for the Organization."

Xemnas turned the entirety of his attention onto Jason, pinning the young boy on the spot.

"Is that so," Xemnas said softly. "Do you truly presume that you're capable of joining the Organization?"

"With all due respect Superior, I just want to go home," Jason said. "I do not wish to involve myself in the business of the Organization."

"Except that I caught this kiddo poking around where he shouldn't be," Xigbar said, relishing his role. "I wouldn't let him out of my sight, personally."

Jason gnashed his teeth in frustration. With so many unanswered questions regarding how his parents were connected to Xigbar, he couldn't just leave well enough alone. Xigbar knew this and was using that fact as a chain to keep Jason in the castle.

"If you truly want to join the Organization," Xemnas said as Heartless sprouted from the ground. "Then you cannot do it in your current form."

"Please!" Jason shouted desperately as he fell to his knees. "I just want to go home. What do I have to do to earn my right to leave this place?"

In his head he could feel his inner Shadow radiate disgust at how easily he was discarding his dignity - but dignity was a commodity he couldn't afford at the moment.

"I think we can ease up on the kid now," Xigbar said. "If he really wants to go home so badly, something can be arranged."

He walked up to Xemnas and began talking to him softer than Jason could pick up. Xemnas did not once change expression the entire time, making it impossible for Jason to discern what was being said.

Finally both Nobodies turned back to face Jason, having decided the human's fate. With a sweep of his arm, Xemnas banished the Heartless, much to Jason's relief.

"If you truly wish to see your home world again," Xemnas said grandly. "Then you must demonstrate your resolve. Prove that you won't be swallowed by your own inner emptiness, no matter how much it grows!"

"Every member of this Organization pulls their own weight, so you'd better chip in yourself if you want to live another day," Xigbar clarified. "So congratulations, Duskie. You're now employed under Organization XIII."

"In what capacity?" Jason asked, releasing a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"The very bottom of the food chain, of course," Xigbar said, and he summoned a Dusk, gesturing for Jason to pay attention to it. "For instance, this is who you're going to be reporting to on a daily basis."

Jason stared at the shimmering Nobody, and it seemed to stare back at him. Could it be that this creature had some level of awareness? The teen carefully approached the Nobody, and it didn't attack.

"Hello there," Jason said, holding a hand out. "I am Jason Darnell, and I look forward to working with you."

The Dusk leapt at Jason, wrapped its body around him without actually touching him, then slithered off and disappeared. Jason remained frozen, unsure what had just happened. Xemnas had no reaction to this, but Xigbar was grinning.

"I think that Dusk likes you, kiddo," he quipped. "Well, now that everything's settled, it's back to the cell with you."

* * *

As soon as Jason was deposited back into his cell, he went back to training, this time by doing some drills with his Bo staff. According to Xigbar, tomorrow he would meet a member of the Organization that would start him on the path to being a productive member. Not that Jason was an actual member; instead Jason would be working for the right to see another day.

Jason tried to execute a particularly tricky kata, but tripped on his own feet and collided with the floor.

"What are you doing, little brother?"

Eileen slowly rose from the ground, shaking her head in exasperation at her younger brother's antics. She was noticeably translucent, and she floated a few inches from the ground.

"Eileen, what are you doing here!?" Jason exclaimed. If he wasn't mistaken, what his sister was doing was astral projection - a spell that she had dug up from their parents' old magic books. But that still didn't explain what she was doing in this castle.

"I got a ride off of someone in a black cloak," Eileen explained. "A man with dirty-blond hair."

The description Eileen gave sounded unfamiliar, and Jason wondered if this castle really did hold thirteen powerful Nobodies.

"As for why I'm here," Eileen continued. "I was looking for you, of course! But wow, little brother. This is a really bad situation you've found yourself in."

Jason set down his staff and approached his older sister, feeling truly happy for the first time since arriving there. "So are you here to take me out of this place, then?"

Eileen shook her head. "How I wish I could, Jason. But it took everything I had just to make it here, and this form has no offensive options. But there is something I can do."

Eileen sank back into the floor, but before vanishing completely she stopped and looked at her brother reassuringly.

"I'm going to make my way back home," she explained, "and go back into my physical body long enough to relocate it somewhere safe. Then I'll come back here and guide you out of this hellish situation. Hold tight until then."

With that, Eileen left, leaving her brother to go back to his training drills. After healing the bruised leg from his earlier fall, Jason focused once again on maneuvers with his weapon. It would likely be a few days until Eileen came back, so it was up to him to manage on his own until then.

* * *

"Superior, are you sure about this? I see no purpose in keeping such fodder among us when we could just as easily gain another Dusk."

"A report from a Dusk I have observing the boy imparted on me some very interesting information. He is willing to seek out a Keyblade if it means advancing his own goals."

"I see. In that case shall I keep tabs on the current wielder?"

"There is still much time until the Keyblade is sufficiently nurtured. In the end, the one who holds it doesn't really matter."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: When I first came up with the concept of Jason Darnell, I imagined his as a "pragmatic human". I hope this chapter has demonstrated what he's willing to do to survive. Jason's morality system will be explored further in future chapters. See you next time! Please review.


	11. Jason vs. The World That Never Was

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: In case anyone was wondering, I know full well how similar Jason's character design is to Axel. All I'll say right now is that this was a deliberate choice on my part. Today's chapter also sheds a little light on this. So enjoy, my fair readers!

**Scene 10: Jason vs. The World That Never Was**

Xemnas had told Jason that the next morning, the training that would shape him into a member of Organization XIII would begin. So he probably should have expected to be woken up at the crack of dawn, this time by a member of the Organization he hadn't seen before: a man with shoulder-length blue hair, an X-shaped scar on his face, yellow eyes, and pointed ears like Xigbar. Unlike the other members of Organization XIII Jason had met so far, this man didn't seem to emote in the slightest.

"It's time for you to wake up," he stated. "You have ten minutes to report to the gray area where you will receive your training assignment for today."

When he asked the Nobody his name, the man said it was Saix. "Will I be provided transportation to this gray area?" Jason asked, rubbing his eyes.

"You will not," Saix answered. "If you are to be under the employ of the Organization, you will learn how to open the Dark Corridors or you will find an alternate way. Regardless, tardiness will not be tolerated."

He left the room without another word. Jason made a mental note about the voids being called Dark Corridors, as well as the implication that anyone could open one.

_Saix didn't strike me as a liar – he didn't seem to care enough to lie. And since I have this cloak they gave me, these portals seem pretty low risk. So how would I go about opening one of these things?_

After putting on his assigned cloak, Jason tried to form a mental image in his mind of those mysterious purple voids, visualizing what they looked like, and willing as hard as he could that a portal would manifest inside his room.

The very next instant, a Dark Corridor erupted a few feet away from him.

_Did….did I do that? May as well see where it goes._

Feeling apprehensive, Jason walked through the portal.

* * *

That feeling lasted exactly as long as it took for Jason to cross to the other side – for waiting there was none other than the 'doppelganger' known as Axel.

"It's you!" Jason exclaimed.

"Hello to you too, kid," Axel said. "I thought I told you to forget all about us."

"Believe me when I tell you that I didn't want this," Jason said. "Now I'm just looking for a way back home."

"Unfortunately for you, that's not happening anytime soon. You can't even open a Dark Corridor yet, so I had to drag you here. But at least you have a game face going for you."

Jason didn't know what was worse, the fact that Axel had opened the portal, or the perpetually amused air with which he spoken of Jason's plight. Everyone in the castle seemed to delight in his suffering.

"Hey now," Axel said, taking on a more casual air. "That's what I'm here for. I've been assigned the task of getting you into shape today. So long as you keep up you should be fine. Got it memorized?"

"I suppose so," Jason said, feeling uncertain all over again.

Axel shook his head. "I have a feeling today's going to be a long day."

* * *

Jason touched ground on the same world that he had visited with Larxene before. He was once again in awe at the nonsensical nature of his surroundings. He leaned in to study a yellow flower roughly the size of his head.

"It's rude to stare, you know."

These words emanated from inside the flower itself, causing Jason to leap so far back he crashed into a wall of reeds. After a few minutes Jason felt it was safe to get back on his feet, rubbing an aching shoulder.

"Wow, you really don't get out much, do you?" Axel said, looking at Jason with a mix of fascination and pity.

"A few days ago my biggest concern was finishing an essay for English class," Jason told him, doing his best to control his frustration. That wasn't quite accurate, but bringing up his parents was not something he wanted to do at the moment.

"Well, I can guarantee that what you'll learn today will serve much better than anything you get in a classroom," Axel said. "So make sure to pay attention."

As it happened, Jason was paying attention; the turn of phrase that Axel used made Jason think that he must remember some things about what it was like back when he was a human. Jason was still processing Xigbar's explanation of the nature of the castle's residents, but the more these beings told him, the more clues Jason had to figure them out.

"As you may have already been told, all Organization members are sent to different worlds on different kinds of missions," Axel explained. "The kinds of missions vary on the capacity of the individual member."

Translation: members of greater importance are given missions of equal importance.

If Axel noticed the gears turning in the head of his young ward, he didn't comment on it. Instead, he continued his explanation.

"As for you, there are only two kinds of missions you probably need to worry about: recon and heartless extermination. I believe in hands-on learning, so follow me."

The two redheads made their way through the warped woods, until they came upon a small clearing where several Heartless were mingling. There were the Shadow Heartless that Jason had seen several times at this point, and then there were a few bell-shaped Heartless in bright colors floating about. Of course, the moment Jason walked into the area all Heartless immediately converged on him, forcing the boy to go on the defensive.

Ducking and weaving through the horde, Jason still tried to pick out any details he could catch. So he was at least on the lookout when the bell shaped Heartless began casting elemental spells at him.

_Each color seems to stand for a different element. Red, blue, and yellow for fire, ice, and lightning respectively. But then what do those green ones do?_

Jason fiercely struck one of the Shadow Heartless, which caused it to stumble about weakly. One of the green heartless rushed towards it and sprinkled green sparks on it, and the wounded creature sprang back up at full health.

_…I feel deeply ashamed of myself for not thinking of that. At least I know which of these Heartless to kill first._

There was a brief mental stutter at how easy it was to justify killing the Heartless, but Jason's desire to survive overpowered the thought. Before long, he managed to clear out all the Heartless. The task left him tired, physically and emotionally, and for a moment he wondered how this could be done on a daily basis.

"But you already know why," Axel said, reading Jason's expression. "And you should also know that this is what you have to keep up with if you plan to stick around for the long run."

"I can manage to maintain this pace," Jason said, his words belied by the way he was panting in exhaustion.

"You did manage to finish this mission, at any rate," Axel said, emanating a much friendlier and casual demeanor than anything Jason had seen so far. "So I think you've earned the right to a treat."

It seemed like a genuine offer, and gaining a potential ally was high on Jason's priority list. Axel almost seemed sincere…

Except that in every member of the Organization Jason had met so far, there was a sense of inherent wrongness deep inside them, including Larxene. When it came to Axel, Jason had that same feeling, but only at ten-fold.

"I think I'd rather go back to my room, but thank you for offering," Jason said, treading carefully in case it was still possible to offend a Nobody.

"Hey, I was just asking," Axel said, putting his hands up. "Maybe another day, then."

An awkward silence hung in the air during the trip back to the Castle. Jason didn't allow himself to think about all the bridges he may have burned just now. He would deal with whatever consequences resulted from this as they revealed themselves. More importantly, there was more training in the days ahead of him…

* * *

When awareness came back to Jason, he found himself in his bed, trapped in a world of pain. His sternum felt like it was nothing but small shards scattered about his chest. His mind tried to recall what had happened, but the only thing that occurred to him was that he must have collided with a small locomotive.

"Wh-what happened to me?" Jason wondered aloud.

"Lexaeus, kiddo. Lexaeus happened to you," Xigbar's voice echoed from somewhere outside the cell. He sounded amused, and it was that much more insulting when Jason remembered he was doing it on purpose.

_Maybe I should have asked to train with Axel again…_

* * *

"This should be a good place."

Ever since Eileen read the letter left to her by her father, she was discovering just how little she truly knew about her parents. Her current location was a perfect example of this: a small shack just outside the borders of Twilight Town. If it weren't for the fact that it's location was described in the letter, Eileen wouldn't have even known that it existed.

Up until recently, Eileen had never even given a thought to what existed outside the town's walls. Now here she was, seeing her entire world outside the window of this shack. Outside the town walls, there was a road that led off to some unknown destination. Just... what existed at the end of that road?

Eileen shook her head to clear her mind. None of that mattered right now. Judging by the various blueprints for spaceships that dotted the walls and the workbench, this shack existed as a place for work. Leaving her body here, along with the excuses she gave everyone back home, would guarantee that she had at least a good month and a half before she had to go back. Her spell would keep her body in suspended animation, but it would still require food and water.

Even so, her little brother needed her. Eileen wouldn't let anything stand in her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I couldn't help but sneak little references to 358/2 Days in this chapter. The scent of conspiracy is thick in the air, so these various threads will begin to converge soon. I hope you all look forward to the following chapters. See you next time! Please review.


	12. A Path is Unfolding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Now the story is going to settle into a "daily life" pattern for a bit. So watch everyone's lives unfold as they chase their ambitions. Enjoy, my fair readers!

**Scene 11: The Path is Unfolding**

"Even just from simple observation, it is clear that this world does not operate by the same rules as my world."

"Even a Creeper Nobody could point that out. Do you have something more meaningful to say?"

Jason considered the question. Today's training once again returned him to Wonderland, this time with a blond-haired Nobody by the name of Vexen. The purpose of the mission was to test Jason's observational prowess, so Vexen had been drilling him with queries all day.

"Well, the important thing is to learn the rules here," Jason finally answered. "While this world doesn't operate how I'm used to, I've noticed some constants. For example, exiting the forest from one place will always lead me to the same area of the room with the fireplace." Jason added as an aside to himself, "Regardless of how little sense it makes for that exit to lead to that room."

The first time Jason left from the opposite side of the forest, only to end up right back where he had started, he thought he had gone crazy. Even now, after trying a few times with the same result, his mind shuddered from trying to figure it out. This world was becoming increasingly bad for his mental health.

"It doesn't make sense to you, you mean," Vexen said in reprimand. "But fair point. It's important to navigate your surroundings and keep multiple routes in mind. Anything else?"

"Excluding the Heartless, all the native life I've encountered so far have been friendly," Jason continued. "Which doesn't mean there aren't hostiles in places I haven't explored - just that, as of now, I know where I will likely remain safe."

"Well reasoned. Now, your observational skills aren't anything noteworthy," Vexen said. "But you have proven to possess a practical mind. That is enough for today, time to RTC."

Jason couldn't help but sigh in relief. As training had continued the past few days his body struggled to keep up. Yesterday's mission had been with a blue-haired organization member named Zexion. That mission concerned exterminating Heartless, but when Zexion had asked Jason if he was willing to go beyond the assigned quota, Jason made sure to flush out any straggler heartless.

This resulted in a clear reward: more potions and 500 munny. The way that compensation worked with the Organization was steadily becoming more clear. That being said, it raised the question if the Organization would ever stop offering work beyond the stated mission and start sneaking it in as a requirement…

Jason also had to admit that after only a few days, the grind was starting to get to him. The stark white walls everywhere in the castle, the difficult nature of the missions, the lack of freedom - it threatened to chip away at him. He didn't know how long he could last like this.

* * *

"So Jason still hasn't been found?" Olette asked her two friends with concern.

"No. It's the spookiest thing," Pence said. "He doesn't show up to school one day, and no one has seen him since. All the adults have been looking for him nonstop, but they haven't found a trace of him."

"Something stinks about this," Hayner said suddenly. "Wasn't the day Jason didn't come to school also the day the Darnell family was attacked last year?"

"I think so," Pence answered thoughtfully. "Wait, you don't think they're related?"

"I'm not sure. But Eileen hasn't been around lately either, and I doubt that's just a coincidence."

The trio of friends first came to know the Darnell siblings when they swept a local Struggle tournament a few years back. Like everyone else in town, they were aware of the incident last year that left Jason and Eileen's parents in a coma.

"I'm sure the authorities are better suited to handle this than we are," Olette pointed out. "I mean, what exactly could we do about it?"

"That's a good question. But I think we can find an answer together."

The voice hadn't come from any of them, and the trio of teens looked around for the source. Mika and Reika were approaching them, and it was the soft-spoken Mika who had broken into their conversation.

"You're Jason's best friends, aren't you?" Olette asked. She had seen them a few times around Jason.

"That's right. We've been looking for him harder than anyone!" Reika said. "But we haven't found him either. So Mika and I were thinking that we could use a little help."

"That sounds like a great idea," Pence said, but he turned to his friends for confirmation anyway.

"Well, it could work out with more of us. Just as long as you two don't get in the way," Hayner said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I still think we should leave this to the police..." Olette mused, then started to cave under the look the boys gave her. "But surely there won't be any harm in doing a little investigating of our own."

Now in agreement, the five teens began brainstorming potential plans to try first - provided they weren't in school.

* * *

The halls of the Castle that Never Was seemed to be completely empty. It made sense: most members of the Organization were out on missions, and those that weren't rested in their rooms instead. But invisible to the naked eye, a presence shifted through the halls.

 _Now where was Jason's cell again?_  Eileen asked herself as she drifted around. Once again she was in her astral projection, with her physical body back in its hiding place. As she searched, Eileen made sure to stay aware for any sign of an Organization member.

Much like last time, Eileen hitched a ride by following behind a member of the Organization into one of their portals, and after another brief but almost suffocating trip through the darkness, she was back in this mysterious world. So far no one had spotted Eileen.

After all, the entire point of the astral projection was that it couldn't be detected. No sight, no scent, no sound of any kind to detect. No physical object hindered Eileen in her current form; she could go anywhere, and no attack could touch her... as far as she knew.

The tradeoff was that Eileen had no way to defend herself in her astral projection. Which meant if there was something that could harm her, she'd be helpless against it. In other words, lowering her guard could be a fatal mistake.

Eileen promised herself that she would only use this spell for the gravest emergencies, and her brother's imprisonment certainly counted. As soon as she found Jason she would see what she could do to help him. But in a castle this large and unfamiliar, she found herself lost more than once.

While Eileen was floating around in a hallway, she heard two voices approaching and quickly hid in an alcove near the ceiling. Peeking down, she saw a man with shocking pink hair and a slim blonde woman, both in black coats.

"How much longer do we have to pretend to care about this Organization?" the woman asked in an irritated tone.

This caught Eileen's attention, and she decided to follow behind them as they continued down the hallway.

"Patience, Larxene," the pink-haired man said. "The Organization doesn't even have all its members yet. We may yet have a large array of Keyblade wielders to choose from instead of just one."

"You know, it's funny you mention that, Marluxia," Larxene said. " Because the human down in the basement cell is interested in learning how to get a Keyblade."

This surprised Eileen so badly she stumbled through the ceiling, and briefly lost her orientation. She had to hurry around a corner to catch up with the pair.

Her brother was looking for a special kind of weapon? What's more, these two members didn't seem to be entirely loyal to whatever this Organization was. Meanwhile, the conversation continued on below her.

"How ambitious," Marluxia said, amused. "I wonder how he would fare if he succeeded?"

"I'll be sure and give him my spare Keyblade so you can test him, just as soon as I can find it," Larxene added sarcastically. "Well, the human is certainly desperate to survive, if nothing else. I'll give him that much."

"So we have another avenue to pursue in our plans," Marluxia said. "Let's keep that in mind. Until then, the rest of the Organization doesn't need to know."

Marluxia and Larxene split off, heading their separate ways. Eileen lowered herself from the ceiling as soon as they were out of sight, thinking on everything she just heard.

What could she tell her brother, and should she leave anything out? This weighed heavily on Eileen's mind, as she returned to the task of finding her brother's room again.

* * *

"I've already met Larxene," Jason said, seated on his cot.

"You have?" Eileen echoed, surprised for the second time today.

Jason nodded. "The Organization assigned her as my magic instructor the other day. But I haven't met this Marluxia person yet. And the implication of their conversation is that they might not be loyal to this Organization?"

"That's what it seemed. But even if that is true, we would still be better off exercising caution here," Eileen warned.

"I certainly haven't been given sufficient reason to trust any of them," Jason said, already taking a pragmatic approach to this. "This potential weak point in the Organization is something to keep in mind."

Eileen gave her little brother her most serious expression. "If I had any say in the matter, I wouldn't let you anywhere near something as uncertain as this. As it is, please be careful, Jason. This could get ugly, and fast."

"I understand, Eileen," Jason said. "But this is our best path forward we've found so far, so I'll get as much out of it as I can."

Eileen couldn't help but hate the fact that this was true. But she couldn't exactly smuggle her physical body into this place without ending up in the same position as Jason. Her role would be that of Jason's eyes and ears outside this cell: between the two of them, hopefully they could catch any dangers that would approach.

This was a precarious situation they found themselves in, and yet Eileen didn't feel as scared as she had before. Her little brother was safe, for now, and she would be working closely with him from here on out.

Now they could begin to plan their counterattack, here in the very heart of the Organization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I feel like the most compelling part of Kingdom Hearts is how multiple groups can have similar aims, but wholly unique motives. Anyways, the action will ramp up as these groups begin their plans. See you next time! Please review.


	13. The True Nature of Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Because I am an insane person, this chapter will feature a written staple of the Kingdom Hearts series: A boss battle. The context of the boss battle and the identity of the boss you will have to read to find out. So enjoy, my readers!

**Scene 12: The True Nature of Healing**

For the first time in many days, Jason closed his eyes while resting in his cot, and opened them to find himself standing on the Station of Delusion. The first thing that he did was look down at stained glass to see if the pattern had changed any since the last time he was there.

Indeed, to the left of Jason's depiction on the stained glass there was now a circle, and inside of it was a picture of Eileen with a gentle smile on her face. Jason slowly walked over to this new part of the stained glass platform, bending down to touch it.

"It seems the time has come for you to dive into yourself again. Are you ready?"

At this point Jason wasn't surprised to hear the voice of Dark Jason behind him, and so he straightened and said, "Okay, what do you want this time?"

"You tell me," Dark Jason said, his yellow eyes sparkling dangerously. "You should know that you only come here when it's necessary."

The last significant thing that happened recently was Eileen's visit to his cell, where the two of them plotted their next move together. Afterwards, Jason couldn't help but feel himself overflowing with love for his older sister, and that had been the last thing on his mind before he went to sleep.

"That's Eileen for you," Jason said affectionately, looking at her face on the stained glass. "Even an entire world away from me she finds some way to track me down and lecture me."

"It's a little more complicated than that," Dark Jason said. "The mere presence of your sister gives you strength - she is your family, after all. Yet at the same time, you worry for her in turn, and a part of you wishes she would stay away."

"Of course I want Eileen to keep away from this castle!" Jason shouted. "I know that spell of hers, and I know there's no way for her to defend herself when she's like that. If she got hurt I don't think I could do anything. If only there was-"

At that moment the circle began to glow with a mystical green energy, which seemed to flow towards the inky black sky in intertwined streams. Dark Jason noticeably backed away from the green energy, and Jason briefly wondered what would happen if it was pushed inside.

"Don't even try it," Dark Jason said, glaring.

Even so, Jason took careful note of this reaction; while he still didn't know what the true nature of this shadow inside of him was, learning about it would likely be very useful in the future. Instead, Jason decided to step into the stream of green energy himself.

Immediately the energy sunk through Jason's skin, his entire being vibrating intensely, while Jason stood his ground, willing himself to not succumb even when it felt like he was going to come apart at the seams from an excess of power...

Just as abruptly it stopped, leaving Jason with a warm tingling all over his body. While still looking down at his sister's face on the stained glass, Jason held out his right hand, and his bo staff appeared as if on command. Except his bo staff had an unexpected, unusual change: a single stripe of green now wound it's way from the bottom to the top of the staff.

"Congratulations. You've learned to wield the Paltry Panacea," Dark Jason said. "Out of worry for your sister, it seems your powers have responded to it accordingly."

"I wonder what other kinds of powers I have hiding inside of me?" Jason wondered out loud, concerned by how much the design on the floor was still obscured by cracks and inky darkness.

"That you feel the need to ask that in the first place says it all. You still have much farther to go," Dark Jason said, shaking his head as everything began to dissolve into nothingness. "Makes me wonder if you're capable of avoiding a terrible fate after all…"

Jason's eyes snapped open, and he sat up in his cot. He could still feel the sensation of his bo staff in his fingers, but he wasn't holding it anymore. Looking around, he found the staff in the corner of the cell, exactly where he left it before he went to sleep.

Except now the staff bore the same exact green markings it had in Jason's dream.

* * *

When he showed the staff to Eileen, his sister didn't have any idea why it would change the way it did. When she asked Jason to explain how this might have happened, he told her all about his vision, including the presence of Dark Jason. Now was not the time to hold anything back.

"The first chance I get, I should go back and read over the healing books you were studying to see if it has any clues," Eileen mused. "If you could remember what you read, we wouldn't be having this problem."

Jason blushed pink from embarrassment. "It's only been a little over a year since I read those healing books. My mind shouldn't already be so fuzzy about what's inside them."

"I've had an idea about that odd shadow inside of you," Eileen said. Jason looked up at her. "Judging by its words, it might have something to do with your locked memories."

"That seems reasonable. But that doesn't explain what it is, or why it would want to keep my memories from that year sealed away," Jason said, unconsciously touching his forehead.

For a moment Eileen didn't say anything, just frowned as her astral projection bobbed up and down in midair. "I don't understand it any better than you do. My own memories of that time are just fine. The only thing I can think of is that it's connected to that head wound of yours."

For the first time Jason considered this possibility. He was the only member of his family to get shot right in the head during the attack. Aside from his parents' coma, Jason's scattered memory and occasional fainting spells were the worst injuries to come from the attack. Could Dark Jason be connected to…?

Suddenly Jason's head started burning, the room started lurching violently, and Jason found himself unable to stay on his feet. He crumpled to the floor, and the room went black shortly after that.

* * *

As it happened, a member of the Organization was sent down to patrol the cell area - a tall, broad man with a shock of red hair. As soon as he saw Jason lying unconscious on the floor he immediately warped out of the room, then returned a short time later with Xigbar in tow.

"I don't see what the big problem is, Lexaeus," Xigbar said dismissively. "So Duskie decided to take a nap and forgot to use his bed. Big deal."

"This human was healthy just yesterday, yet suddenly he seems to be unwell," Lexaeus said. "Did you have anything to do with it, Xigbar?"

"Whoa! Look, I know Duskie here is my personal pet project right now," Xigbar said, "But I don't have anything to gain by breaking him so soon. Nah, I'm just as confused as you are on what happened to the kid."

"This human's first official mission for the Organization is tomorrow," Lexaeus said. "He'd better be in working condition by then, for his own sake."

"You hear that, Duskie!" Xigbar called mockingly into the cell. "You'd better be in tip-top shape for tomorrow. Or you'll find yourself cleaved in two out there."

With that, the two Nobodies left the room, unaware that every word of their conversation had been overheard. The air over Jason's prone body seemed to shimmer ever so slightly.

* * *

It took until the next day for Jason to wake up, and when he did he couldn't help but feel furiously humiliated at how suddenly unconsciousness had struck. There was no time to worry about it, unfortunately, for he was still expected to report to Saix for his mission. But what exactly did the Organization expect him to do?

"There have been reports of a native of the world of Wonderland going around trying to assault innocent residents," Saix explained when Jason asked. "You are to go to Wonderland and investigate the cause of this, and stop it if necessary."

"Why does the Organization care about what happens to the residents of another world?" Jason asked.

"Do not be mistaken. We do not care, for we cannot feel," Saix said. "However, we are concerned for the potential loss of hearts for us to harvest."

This explanation raised further questions about the nature of the Organization's work, but Jason had a feeling now wasn't the time to ask. Instead he next asked, "Are there any further parameters to this mission?"

"Normally, I would advise a member of the Organization how to best avoid contact with the world's natives," Saix said. "Yet the Superior has decided that your scouting missions will function in a different manner."

"How so?"

"When necessary, you are to shed your Organization coat and make contact with a world's natives," Saix explained. "And question them directly for needed information. As far as the current mission is concerned, you are allowed to ask anyone you encounter about the attacker. But you must never reveal your affiliation with the Organization. Is that clear?"

"Perfectly clear, Saix. Thank you," Jason said, appreciating that for once his questions had been answered pretty thoroughly.

"You will not have a partner for this first mission, to test your personal capacity." Saix opened up a Dark Corridor. "Get going."

Without another word, Jason put up the hood of his cloak and walked through the portal.

* * *

The portal deposited Jason somewhere in the forest deep in Wonderland. The redhead removed his cloak, hiding it in a nearby bush. Immediately, Jason took stock of his surroundings, feeling mildly paranoid.

After Jason woke up, Eileen filled him in on the conversation that happened outside his cell while he was unconscious. Lexaeus' concern was quite a surprise - but what worried him was Xigbar's comment. Just what was prowling this world that would 'cleave him in two'?

Not to mention, there was the matter of the vague parameters surrounding contact with a world's natives. In theory, it was okay to do so - but should he? For the moment, Jason slowly walked through the forest, keeping an eye out for natives. The immediate area seemed void of Heartless.

His careful approach paid off. Sitting on a tree stump near an exit was a small, blonde-haired girl in a blue dress. Just a cursory glance at the girl communicated that she was deeply distressed. Jason decided a casual approach was in order.

"Excuse me, Miss," Jason said as he walked up to the girl. "I've found myself lost in this forest and you seem to need help too. Perhaps we can help each other?"

"Oh? Well, hello there," the blonde girl said. "It's very kind of you to offer. My name is Alice."

"My name is… Jason," Jason said, deciding spur of the moment to give her his real first name. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Well, I was chasing this curious white rabbit through this forest," Alice explained. "When I came upon the oddest little court. And while I was exploring it I ran into a rather rude queen - and she suddenly attacked me!"

Iason's eyes widened. Was this queen the mysterious assailant he was looking for? For his first official mission this was running very smoothly. But there were still many unknowns to this situation.

"Well, what direction did you find this queen? Just to see if there's anyone else that's in danger," Jason said.

"She's not too far in this direction," Alice said, pointing to a dark fissure a few paces behind her tree stump. "If you're really going to confront her, please be careful."

"I will. I plan to get us out of this forest," Jason said honestly. With that, he strode off into the exit, bracing himself for whatever was waiting for him on the other side.

Very soon Jason came upon a makeshift court, just as Alice described. Scattered around the courtroom were sentient playing cards holding weapons.

Jason had to do a double take to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But sure enough, the court was mainly populated by living playing cards. At this point Jason could only shake his head in disbelief.

Up at the judge's bench, there sat a large woman in a red dress, wearing a crown and wielding a large axe. Jason gripped his bo staff tightly, ready in case this was his target. Slowly, he approached one of the playing cards: a red three of hearts.

"Excuse me. Could you tell me the name of your queen?" Jason asked.

"Y-you st-stand before the Qu-queen of Hearts!" the playing card answered, clearly terrified. "C-careful with h-h-how you address her or its- its-"

The red three of hearts card couldn't finish the sentence, and none of the other cards seemed fit to talk. So Jason looked up to the Judge's bench and called out, "Your Majesty, may I speak with you?"

The minute the Queen turned towards Jason he shuddered; something was deeply wrong with this woman. The Queen's eyes were unfocused and glazed over. As soon as Jason spoke, the Queen stood up and descended from the judge's bench, approaching Jason.

"You….you don't belong here," the Queen of Hearts said in a monotone. "Off with your head!"

The Queen abruptly brought down her axe at Jason, who barely jumped backwards in time to avoid it. "So you really are my target," Jason said, readying his bo staff. "Please forgive me, your Royal Highness."

The previously cowering playing cards grasped their own axes and advanced on Jason. "No violence against our Queen!" one of the playing cards yelled.

"Oh jeez… I don't want to hurt her!" Jason exclaimed, dodging the attacking playing cards. "I just want to bring the Queen to her senses. You want that, don't you?"

The playing cards didn't seem to be willing to listen to reason, so Jason quickly found himself swinging his staff at them to fight them off. At first Jason only defended himself, up until one of the playing cards caught him on the arm with the edge of their axe, a deep wound that Jason had to quickly heal; after that point Jason fought more aggressively.

The battle went on with the Queen of Hearts swinging her axe slowly but powerfully, leaving gouges in the ground where it impacted, and her card soldiers circling Jason as they attacked him too. The redhead batted at the arms of the card soldiers, hoping to disarm them- it succeeded with several of them, which caused others to become discouraged. The crowd around Jason and the Queen thinned away.

This caused the Queen to become enraged. "I will not stand my court being thrown into disarray!" The Queen shouted, spittle flying from her mouth. She swung her axe horizontally at Jason much faster than at any point previously, and Jason could feel the axe pass only an inch from his neck.

It seemed clear to Jason that ranged attacks were the wisest course of action. Backing away from the Queen as fast as he could, Jason pointed his staff at her and shouted, "Blizzard!"

A chunk of ice shot out from the end of the staff, colliding straight into the Queen's chest, to the outrage of the playing cards. While the Queen slowed down for a second, she otherwise didn't seem affected.

"Your Highness, stop this senseless fighting!" Jason shouted.

"Begone from my court! Begone, all of you!" the Queen shouted back, her eyes shining strangely. She charged at Jason, and he barely managed to stop the blow with his staff. Surprisingly, the staff didn't seem to suffer any damage.

Dodging about the court, Jason kept firing magic spells at the Queen. At the fifth spell, the Queen of Hearts was noticeably winded. Even so, she raised her axe over her head one last time, bringing it down with mighty force. Jason avoided this attack with ease, leaving the axe deeply embedded in the ground and the Queen futilely trying to get it unstuck. Still flush with adrenaline from the battle, Jason swung his bo staff like a baseball bat, smacking the Queen of Hearts in the face.

The Queen stopped moving, then slumped down, her ax clattering to the ground. The card soldiers, who had previously been cowed into not fighting, now advanced on Jason with scowling demeanors. Jason's mind spun trying to come up with ways to get out of this mess.

"Ah, don't worry about your Queen, I'll fix her right up. Cure!" For the first time, the green stripe on the staff glowed brightly as a heal spell fired from the tip and hit the Queen where Jason had smacked her.

The Queen threw her head back in a silent scream, and odd purple vapor issued from her mouth and eyes for a few seconds before ceasing. The Queen slumped her head forward but she managed to stay on her feet, her shoulders heaving.

Struck by a stroke of inspiration, Jason moved himself just out of the Queen's line of sight and said, "Your Highness, I'd like to know if there have been any unusual visitors to your esteemed court?"

"Unusual visitors? Almost no one is allowed in the court unless I let them!" The Queen said, too disoriented to question Jason's presence. "There was this strange scoundrel that dared to approach me without my permission. It looked at me with these orange eyes and… I don't remember."

Further questioning only made the Queen of Hearts irritated, so Jason left the court in short order, meeting back up with Alice in the forest.

"It should be safe to pass through the Queen's court now," Jason said to Alice. "So do it while you can."

"Thank you, Jason," Alice said. "I hope we can meet again, in better circumstances."

Jason made his way back to where the Dark Corridor was, retrieving his Organization cloak and returning to the castle.

* * *

"...In conclusion, I have managed to pacify the Queen, but I don't have any further information on what caused her to attack anyone that walked into her court."

"Very well. Here is your reward," Saix said, handing Jason some potions, ethers, and a thousand munny. "Marluxia will escort you back to your cell. You are dismissed."

Since Eileen had described Marluxia to him previously, Jason wasn't surprised to see the pink-haired man. What did surprise him was when, on the way back to the cell, Marluxia spoke to Jason out of nowhere.

"Larxene and I both agree that you displayed an interesting power during your very first mission," Marluxia said. "Would you be interested in using your power to aid us?"

"Depends. What exactly do you have to offer me?" Jason asked nonchalantly, even as he started to sweat a little.

"That's remarkably forward of you, given your current position," Marluxia said, amused. "From what I understand, you are interested in going back home. If I can arrange for you to visit your home, will that convince you to join us?"

It was only a visit that was being offered. Even so, just that thought alone caused Jason's heart to ache fiercely. So after a moment of thought Jason said:

"You've got yourself a deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter more or less establishes what Jason's role in the Organization from here on forward. It also introduces a mysterious figure that's operating in the background of this story. So look forward to learning more about them in future chapters. See you next time! Please review.


	14. Bridges Burning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And now for some more of our hero and our heroine getting along. Bonding over scheming the most terrible acts. Meanwhile, a group gets together to investigate a matter they care about. So enjoy, my readers!

**Scene 13: Bridges Burning**

"No matter how I look at it, this doesn't make sense."

"So you're saying you don't have a clue? Is that it?" Reika said to Pence with a glare.

"Hey, lay off my friend!" Hayner shouted, advancing on Reika.

"Both of you, calm down," Olette said, restraining Hayner while Mika grabbed Reika. "We won't get anywhere in our investigation if we keep fighting like this."

"Reika, you know the moment Jason hears of this he will bop you on the head with his staff," Mika added. "So I'd cut it out, if I were you."

Begrudgingly, Reika and Hayner cooled down and offered each other apologies, while their friends could only sigh. It was about two weeks since Jason disappeared. The adults were still looking for him, but hope was starting to dim that he would be found.

While the teenagers were also still searching for their friend, they hadn't made any significant progress. It didn't help that Hayner and Reika, due to their respective personalities, had a tendency of clashing with each other often.

Today they were retracing Jason's steps on the day he disappeared, strung together from their separate accounts of that day. Yet no matter how hard the teenagers tried, they could not figure out where Jason could have gone.

"What were you going to say before, Pence?" Olette asked.

"Let's walk through what we know so far." Pence paced the sandbox as he recounted the events. "Two weeks ago, Jason was on his way to school but he had a fainting spell on the tram, and went back home to rest."

"That was bad enough for him to be out until the next day," Hayner noted.

"But Jason was well enough that day to go sparring with me and Mika," Reika said. "And when he finished that he told us he was going back home."

"And that's when he slipped into a crack somewhere and just fell off the face of the earth," Mika concluded.

"That's what doesn't make sense. Twilight Town is a pretty small place," Pence said. "It only takes a few minutes to run from here to where Jason and Eileen live. According to Eileen, Jason never made it back home. So what could have happened to him in such a short distance?"

In a town where most people knew each other, this was an unusual situation. The best answer they could come up with was…

"Could…. could Jason have been kidnapped?" Reika asked. "That's the only possibility I can think of that would explain everything."

"It does seem like the most logical conclusion," Pence said thoughtfully. "But who would do this?"

"Isn't it obvious? The same people that attacked the Darnell family over a year ago," Hayner said. "I don't know how we didn't see this before!"

"So then….what do we do?" Olette asked. "Whoever was behind the attack was never caught. Maybe we should go to..." Olette was about to suggest they go to their parents for help.

"Go to the haunted house," Mika cut in, staring off in the direction of the abandoned mansion. The rest of his friends looked in the same direction and instantly understood. Whenever something spooky or mysterious happened in Twilight Town, it always seemed to be connected to that abandoned mansion.

The ragtag group of teenagers headed in the direction of the mansion, determined to make a lead in their investigation. Olette completely forgot about going to the adults for help.

* * *

Three years ago….

"Introducing the next contestant of this year's Struggle tournament! The younger brother of last year's champion, Eileen, fighting to prove himself in the ring this year- Jason Darnell!"

Jason walked up to the stage, his expression focused. In contrast, the struggle bat swung loosely in his right hand. The crowd around him murmured to themselves, wondering how Jason's skills compared to his sister's.

"Facing him is the contestant currently in the lead, Seifer!"

Seifer confidently strode onto the stage, with his own struggle bat at the ready. A lot of the crowd started cheering for Seifer. He gladly soaked up the attention.

"Sorry I have to embarrass you in front of your family, Jason, but you're not going to win," Seifer said, gesturing to where Eileen and their parents were watching.

"If you have time to talk, you have time to get ready for the match," Jason responded, his tone even.

Out in the audience Hayner stood sulking while his friends tried to cheer him up. Hayner had fought Seifer in the previous round and lost, and Seifer had mocked him afterwards. The only reason he was still here was because Pence and Olette had convinced to stay and watch the rest of the matches.

"Let's have a nice, clean match," the announcer said. "Now let's STRUGGLE!"

Seifer immediately went on the offensive, dashing at Jason while swinging his bat viciously. Jason avoided the blow by ducking, then strafing to the side. He made an attempt to hit Seifer, but Seifer was able to avoid the blow, taking the chance to aim at Jason's unprotected back.

It succeeded - the bat struck Jason, causing green balls to scatter from him. The redhead immediately rushed to get them all back, but Seifer was able to snatch a couple, putting him in the lead.

"Ha! Not doing so hot, are you?" the older boy crowed.

"How about you spin some more? Seems to be helping you so far," Jason said cooly, even as he was sweating from the effort. The taunt had its intended effect - Seifer's face immediately scrunched up in anger.

"Oh, now you're going to get it, Jason!" he shouted, dashing at the redhead while swinging his bat wildly. Jason effortlessly dodged and struck Seifer, causing bright orange balls to rain down. Jason scooped them all up while Seifer was still reeling.

As Seifer glared furiously at Jason, he only smiled in response. The rest of the match was evenly paced- Seifer still got in a few good blows, but Jason had found his rhythm and made his hits with efficiency. When the referee blew the whistle to signify timeout, the score was tallied before a hushed crowd.

The whistle blew and the final score was written on the scoreboard in large letters and numbers: Jason at 210 points, Seifer with 190 points. The sight caused Seifer to throw his bat on the ground.

"Grrr….you got lucky! But next time, you'll be sorry!" With that, he stomped off in a huff, his two friends shadowing him. Meanwhile, Jason's own family and friends crowded around Jason, congratulating the young boy on his narrow victory.

Hayner, Pence, and Olette had been blown away by the intense match, and stuck around to see the rest of the tournament. Jason ultimately lost the championship match against his sister Eileen, but after the end of that match the three friends approached the Darnell family.

"...I wish we could have played this game when we were younger, James," Mrs. Darnell was saying to her husband. "It looks like so- oh, and you are?"

Hayner, Pence, and Olette introduced themselves to the Darnell family, and the family of redheads introduced themselves to the trio of teenagers.

"You must be here to congratulate me on my second year of Struggle supremacy," Eileen said, brandishing the championship belt. Jason didn't say anything, but he did sigh in an affectionately exasperated manner.

"You're certainly an impressive Struggle player!" Olette said, starstruck. "But Jason had you on the ropes in the last match."

Jason reared back, his face turning pink at the unexpected attention. "Thank you for watching my matches," Jason mumbled.

"That's my little brother for you," Eileen said, messing with Jason's hair. "But I'm not going to lose to him anytime soon."

"Yeah, he wasn't too bad putting Seifer in his place," Hayner added, back to his usual self. "I wouldn't mind facing you in the championship next year, Jason."

"There's no reason to wait until next year," Jason said, smiling. "My friends and I practice Struggle on the weekends. Want to join us?"

* * *

"You look even worse than usual, little dude."

"Thanks for the observation, Demyx," Jason said, otherwise not even glancing at the lazy sitar player. After two weeks working under the Organization, he'd met every member at least once, and his opinions on them varied. His opinion of Demyx, however, was certainly near the bottom.

Since agreeing to Marluxia's terms, Jason's mind had been filled with nothing but thoughts of home. Just this morning, he remembered the Struggle tournament where he'd met Hayner, Pence, and Olette.

How were they doing? Were Mika and Reika making sure they were staying out of trouble? Had the school dropped him for missing two weeks in a row?

This was not a state to do missions in, but the Organization didn't care for such complaints. Then again, given that Nobodies allegedly had no emotions, this kind of problem would usually never arise.

"What is my mission for today?" Jason asked Saix.

"Heartless extermination in Twilight Town," Saix said. "You are to team up with Larxene to accomplish this task efficiently."

Had Marluxia truly managed to arrange this? If he did, it would certainly give added incentive to an alliance with him and Larxene. Another topic to discuss with Eileen at the end of the day. But for now…

"This mission comes with restrictions: You are forbidden from removing the hood of your cloak," Saix continued. "Or making contact of any kind with the natives. Understood?"

"Perfectly," Jason said, struggling to keep venom out of his tone. The stipulations made sense, but that didn't make them any less cruel. He wouldn't be able to talk to his friends or let them know he was okay - if they were still looking for him, that is. Putting up the hood of the cloak, Jason strode through the Dark Corridor.

* * *

At the abandoned mansion, the teenagers found themselves stymied by the tall gate. There were rumors it had been opened recently, but either those rumors were false or someone had sealed it back up.

"So much for that," Reika said, irritated. "Let's try again another day."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say we were being messed with," Hayner said, in a similar foul mood. "Maybe Seifer had something to do with this. Wouldn't put it past him."

The rest of his friends simply ignored this declaration. It was just more of the usual enmity between Seifer and Hayner. Everyone made their way through the forest, ready to return home for the day, to regroup their search tomorrow.

So none of them were prepared when a cluster of strange black creatures erupted from the ground, peering at the group of teenagers with round, yellow eyes. Something about the creatures just seemed...off.

Automatically Hayner and Reika spread their arms, trying to defend the rest of their friends. The yellow-eyed creatures slowly approached the teens, circling around them to cut off their escape.

Just as one of the creatures pounced, a bolt of lightning came out of nowhere and hit the creature. It erupted in a puff of black of smoke. Then jets of ice and fire rained down from the trees, peppering all the remaining creatures and eliminating them. Mika looked up at the trees, spotting a patch of inky blackness that suddenly moved.

After the forest fell into silence, the teens burst into a nervous chatter. Mika considered mentioning what he saw in the trees, but something in his gut stopped him. Something about the darkness had felt familiar. So for now Mika said nothing about what he saw to the rest of his friends.

"We might be in over our heads here," Olette said.

"Our parents probably won't let us investigate any time soon after arriving home so late," Hayner said. "Let's try to regroup next week to talk about what happened."

With a new aura of wariness around them, the teens exited the forest as quickly as they could.

* * *

On the front lawn of abandoned mansion, two cloaked figures appeared on the other side of the locked gate. One of them had a clearly feminine figure, while the other was shorter and had a masculine figure. Neither of them removed their hoods even though they were alone.

"What kind of idiot kids would just wander around in a random forest?" Larxene asked, contempt clear in her voice. Then she caught the mood of her companion. "What, did you know them?"

"I did. They are… my friends," Jason answered, staring wistfully at the forest on the other side of the gate. "I think they were here looking for me. But I can't let them know I was just a few feet above them."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think that Marluxia set this up as his idea of a joke," Larxene said. "Just why are you so desperate to return here? It's such a boring, backwater place."

"Even if you had a heart, I have a feeling you still wouldn't understand, Larxene," Jason said, turning away from the Nobody. "But not too long ago, this was all I ever knew. This mansion, the forest, the streets just beyond - it's all home to me."

"Hmph. If you really want to stay in a place like this, it's no skin off my nose," Larxene grumbled, but her voice was missing its usual malice. "As long as you hold up your end of the bargain, I'll make sure to leave you and your dopey friends alone when I'm here on missions."

"You know what? I'd really appreciate that," Jason said, his mood lighter for the first time since arriving here. "Thanks, Larxene."

Even with her face concealed, it was clear by her body language that the gratitude caught the female Nobody off guard. She opened the Dark Corridor and pointed at it with unusual aggressiveness.

"Just RTC already, kid."

* * *

After seeing his home world again, Jason wasn't ready for anything else to happen today. Yet as fate would have it, two events happened in quick succession that threw Jason headfirst into a miasma of chaos.

As soon as he returned to the Castle, Jason was approached by Axel, who as usual was exuding a friendly demeanor.

"So how was it to see your home again?" Axel asked causally.

"Good. It's all just as I remember it," Jason said, wondering what the redheaded Nobody wanted.

Apparently Axel decided to cut to the chase, because then he said, "I know that Marluxia asked Saix to assign you that mission. If I had to guess, he wanted something from you, didn't he?"

"Why do you ask?" Jason said, now wary.

"I wouldn't believe any kind of offers he has for you, that's all I'm saying," Axel said, his tone serious. "And my offer from earlier is still open."

The offer to side with Axel instead. Jason genuinely weighed the offer in his head. Axel seemed like he was being sincere, and Jason didn't fully trust either Marluxia or Larxene.

But Axel was just a little too late - Jason had already agreed to side with Marluxia if he could visit Twilight Town, and the pink-haired Nobody had already come through on his side of the deal. To backstab him now would only be asking for trouble.

"Regrettably, I will have to turn down your offer, Axel," Jason said. "I'm sorry."

For a moment Axel seemed truly disappointed, before he covered it up with his relaxed persona. "Hey, just thought I'd ask."

The two redheads parted ways. As he returned to his cell, Jason was filled with a distinct feeling he'd just made a choice he could never go back on.

Before he could reach his cell, Jason was intercepted by Vexen. He was instructed to go to the Organization's meeting room for an important announcement. When Jason arrived, the Organization members sat at the top of twelve of the thirteen chairs. Jason took his place off to the side, down on the floor. In the center of the room stood a small figure in a black hood.

"This is the newest member of Organization XIII," Xenmas said. "The Key of Destiny, Roxas."

It was a name that would end up being buried in Jason's mind for a long time to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So now, there are multiple groups at work, some with the same objective. However, even having the same objective can't guarantee you won't be on opposite sides. Look forward to how these gears turn in the future. Find me at anytime on Tumblr at Snowthefirst. See you next time! Please review.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: And here is the new prologue! Now, because of the system that my editor and I have set up, it will be a while until more chapters are released. No worries, however! I refuse to let this story dies, even if it takes months to get going. Well, see you guys next time! Please review.


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